Let's fill up that bucket!

The most important three of the five strategies that Tom Rath discussed that stuck out to me were shine light on what’s right, to make best friends, and give unexpectedly.

1. Shine LIGHT on what’s RIGHT

I found this strategy important because it was all about seeing the positives out of any situation. Invest yourself and your time into great things, not the negatives. It reminds me of the saying “kill them with kindness”. Somehow that saying just came up into my mind because it makes you realize you shouldn’t be putting your energy into someone or something negative but put that energy into something that will always become positive like kindness.

1. Make best friends

I don’t know about other people, but I do know that if I didn’t have my best friends around I don’t know who I would be today. They are the people who shape you into who you are. Like Tom said in the video, the people around you shape you and can be a big influence in your attitude. Where ever the world make take you, you might not be able to take your best friends with you, but you can certainly make new ones. Maybe even by filling a random person’s bucket:)

1. Give unexpectedly 

What’s better than receiving a gift? Giving a gift to a person who is beyond grateful for what they were given. Doing something nice for someone not only benefits them and makes their day but it should do the same to yourself as well. Giving doesn’t always have to mean giving a gift of some sort but it can also be important to give people gifts such as responsibility or trust. To me, those are the greatest gifts of all.

I think Mr. Rath’s principles of bucket filling is just something that people should have right from the common core. It’s the true answers of trying to make the world a better place and each strategy is just getting one step closer to the bigger picture. If we focus on trying to change ourselves and the others around us for the good then we will see drastic changes throughout businesses, families, friends, and our world around us.

I can only hope that I am a bucket filler. I mean we all have our bad days, but we just need to remember to shine light on what’s right, appreciate the people around us, and try our best to fill every single person’s bucket we come across. My goal is to be a bucket filler, not a tipper.