How Full Is Your Bucket?

Short but fascinating read. Uses the metaphor of filling or taking from others buckets, and the research of impact of negativity/study of what we do wrong and shifting to impact of positivity/study of what we do right.

How Full Is Your Bucket? is a enjoyable short book that could have been a long magazine article or blog post that winsomely describes a simple psychological concept: giving and receiving genuine compliments, caring, and help = GOOD; giving and receiving cutting, criticizing, and other negative vibes = BAD. There it is. I just saved you fourteen bucks.

Ok, there are a lot of warm anecdotes and some interesting research tossed in there that makes you think, and a few simple strategies to keep in mind:

Prevent Bucket Dipping: both you and others
Shine a Light on What Is Right
Make Best Friends
Give Unexpectedly
Reverse the Golden Rule: Do unto others as they would have you do unto them.

His point that every day we have about 20,000 show more individual moments, snapshots in our conscious lives, and that every moment counts for good or ill, really hit home for me, and that these little individual moments really do add up both for us and the people around us.

Besides the price, the only thing I would add to what the book says is to not leave God out of the equation. We shouldn't be kind to other people just to increase our warm fuzzies count, but ultimately to glorify God and please Him. And though God has designed us to receive joy from others "filling our bucket," ultimately Christ must be the inexhaustible fountain in our souls. show less

A little more substantive than some of the other pop motivation/biz books, but it also refined the "recognition for recognition's sake" culture applying common sense to it.

The power of positive thinking and positive reinforcement take center stage in this slim volume that reads more like an expanded magazine article. There are no "lightbulb moments" in this manual for improving relationships and work environments. Still, the authors' "bucket-filling" gospel is supplemented with some helpful learning tools and backed up with convincing anecdotes.

I read this for work and I enjoy the reminder about the influence that I have on other people's days based on how I interact with them. The psyc major in me enjoyed taking the StrengthsFinder quiz. It was a very quick read. My only complaint is that I wish it gave me more specific tips on how to actually be more positive in my interactions with other people and how to deal with people who are constantly negative.

Very short and easy to read, but some excellent points using praise rather than criticism to energize people around you.

A great little book that presents the philosophy/psychology of enabling and pursuing positive interactions with others. A good reminder to be kind to others for a healthier, happier life.