How Full is Your Bucket

Tom Rath and his grandfather, Donald Clifton, wrote a book a few years ago entitled How Full is Your Bucket. Mr. Clifton taught psychology at the University of Nebraska. He found that our lives are shaped by our interactions with other people. And he said every interaction, regardless of how brief, makes a difference. The theory behind the bucket is that each of us has an invisible bucket. It is constantly being emptied or filled. Of course, when our bucket is full we feel great. We don't feel so great when it is empty. Each bucket also has an invisible dipper. With that dipper we can fill other people's buckets, or we can dip from them. We dip from other buckets when we say and do things which decrease their positive emotions. We can fill or we can steal. Each choice influences our relationships. This book was written in 2004. At that time, Rath and Clifton wrote that "rampant negativity is not only disheartening, it is expensive. It costs the U.S. economy between $250 and $300 billion every year in lost productivity." Today's Winning Thought: It would certainly seem like it is worth the effort to be more positive.