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What I Learned from the book “How Full Is Your Bucket?”

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How Full Is Your Bucket by Tom Rath & Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D.”What I Learned from the book  How Full Is Your Bucket” by Joan Y. Edwards

I enjoyed reading How Full Is Your Bucket. They have one written for kids, but I haven’t read it. I listed it in the resources for you.

Sometimes my bucket feels pretty empty. Other times, it’s filled to the brim and running over. The book lists five strategies to keep your bucket full. Here are three of them and my explanation of what they are good.

To Keep Your Bucket Full

1. Shine a light on what is right –

  • Focus on what is right. Not what is wrong. If a child has 3As and one F on a report card, where do you usually place your focus. On the F. We need to focus on and celebrate the good points, then others will have confidence that will help them raise the F, too.
  • When you get stressed out with many things coming at you from all angles, you sometimes forget to focus on the positive things. Focus on the things you love about people. Focus on the things you’re thankful that they do for you and mean to you. Tell them. Show them.

2. Make Best Friends

  • People who have good friends seem to keep a fuller bucket.

3. Reverse the Golden Rule:Do what others would like you to do for them. Not do what you would like others to do for you. 

  • I think this is something we don’t think about much. It’s the real knowledge of what love is. If your husband hates going to the movies, taking him to the movies on his birthday is probably not something he really wants. However, if he likes to go to a restaurant and eat, then that would be a gift that would fill his bucket better.
  • It also suggests of giving equal gifts to two daughters. If one loves ponies and the other doesn’t, it would not be kind to give both girls a pony for their birthdays. Equal in one way, but not equal in ways that means you love them and care about them.

This book also gives you ideas to notice ways that you like to receive positive feedback on you from the workplace, from your friends, and from those you love dearly. The book lists 9 ways. I’ll just list 3 of them:

Ways You Like to Receive Positive Feedback

1. What hobbies or interests do you like to talk about a lot?

  • You can honor him and fill his bucket by talking about or asking him about these things.

2. Do you like public, private, written, verbal, or other kinds of recognition?

  • If your employee, loved one, or friend cringes when he gets public recognition, you’re not filling his bucket when you praise him in front of others.
  • However, if he loves getting written compliments and posts every certificate you give him on the walls of his office, then this is the way to recognize him that will make him feel really good about himself.

3. What is the greatest recognition you have ever received?

  • It was interesting to discover that the greatest recognitions many people in his book had received was a small recognition of a teacher telling them they were good at something other people may have told them they were bad at.
  • It reminds me of the story about a teacher that told everyone in the class to write down what they liked about each person in their class. They were not allowed to write any negatives.  Most of these students saved these lists for the rest of their lives: http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/m/markeklund.htm
  • I challenge you today to make a list of all the things you like about someone in your life and give it to them. Try to make it as long as a page. So they can frame it if they like, or fold it and put it in their wallet.

Three Full Bucket Resources

Go to the following link to download 3 pdf files you’re sure to benefit to help you fill your bucket and that of others, too.

http://strengths.gallup.com/115186/Full-Bucket-Resources.aspx

  1. Gallup Recognition Interview – What to ask your employees, friends, loved ones so that you can interact positively  with them
  2. Positive Impact Test Statements – Affirmations of how you are giving others positive feedback
  3. Interaction Scoreboard – A great way to improve your interactions with others

Resources:

  1. Gallup Recognition Interview – What to ask your employees, friends, loved ones so that you can interact positively  with them
  2. Positive Impact Test Statements – Affirmations of how you are giving others positive feedback
  3. Interaction Scoreboard – A great way to improve your interactions with others

I hope that reading this has helped you learn something about yourself and that you realize the ways you already fill another person’s bucket with good thoughts about himself to last a lifetime. It may also give you a clue about how you like for others to recognize you so that you can share that with our best friend.

Please leave a comment telling me about the greatest recognition you have ever had or something you’ve found to help you keep your good feelings in your bucket high.

Focus on the positive about you and those you love.
Celebrate you and those you love.
Never Give Up

Joan Y. Edwards

Copyright © 2013 Joan Y. Edwards