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Another way to assess your fulfilment is asking, how full is your bucket? 

Through the ebb and flow of life, fulfilment is something that can sometimes be cast to the wayside, however, when aligned can create a motivated, happier, positive you. So ask yourself, how did you feel after your last interaction with another person? Did that person “fill your bucket” by making you feel more positive?  Or did that person “dip from your bucket”, leaving you more negative than before?

We all have ‘fulfilling (filling) moments’ and ‘low (dipping) moments’ in our lives – it’s a natural part of being human and living alongside one another!

Did you know that, on average, we have 20,000 interactions every day?

I’ve been re-reading a fabulous book titled “How Full is Your Bucket” by Tom Rath and Don Clifton.  This book reveals how the briefest interactions in your life affect your relationships, productivity and health.  

This book talks about the “theory of the dipper and the bucket”. We all have an invisible bucket, constantly emptying or filling, depending on our interactions.  

When the bucket is full, we feel great.  When it’s empty, we feel awful. What are you doing to make sure your bucket is at a reasonable level and your fulfilment reached? And who’s bucket are you dropping into right now?

So what does the science say on fulfilment when influenced by others?

Some of the fifty years worth of research from this book illustrate some interesting findings (the book was written in 2004, so I’m sure some of these findings may be out-of-date now, but they still tell a revealing story):

  • The #1 reason people leave their jobs:  they don’t feel appreciated.
  • The cost of disengagement:  USD$ 250-300 billion per year.
  • Nine out of ten people say they are more productive when they’re around positive people.
  • We experience approximately 20,000 individual moments every day.
  • The magic ratio is five positive interactions for every one negative interaction.  But interestingly, too much positive emotion could decrease productivity (apparently, this ratio is when it’s more than 13 positive to one negative).
  • Extending longevity:  Increasing positive emotions could lengthen lifespan by 10 years.
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Who’s bucket are you filling up? Who fills up yours?

So we face choices every day – we can fill one another’s buckets, or dip from them.

My challenge for you today is to go and put a drop in someone’s bucket that you know.

If you have completed your CliftonStrengths before, you can log in to the Gallup Access digital ‘bucket drop’ creator.  Here’s a 2-minute video of me explaining how you can do this in Gallup Access.

So, how are you feeling?

I offer coaching packages for people looking to fill their buckets, succeed, find motivation and become their best selves.   Contact me today to learn how you can maximise your unique talents to begin filling your buckets.