How Full Is Your Bucket? Positive Strategies for Work and Life

Rating:
Summary: Add to your collection!
Review:
I will agree if someone tells me that similar ideas have already been published before. However, I do find "Your Bucket" inspiring. I think that this volume needs to be kept at home as a reference book. I added it to my collection, next to "Can We Live 150 Years" by M. Tombak. Although I know all the simple ideas presented by Tombak, I always get new motivation to improve my well-being and to become 150 whenever I reach for that book again... Try both of them, and you will see it for yourself. In fact they should be sold in one bundle. They ARE better together! Before buying check the website www.starthealthylife.com for many long excerpts from the book, plus some free ebooks.


Rating:
Summary: More Than Half Full
Review:
Remember the old saying, "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Basically, be nice to everyone you meet and most will return the sentiment. How Full Is Your Bucket offers similar common sense advice.

Positive thoughts can become a habit or negative thoughts can become a habit. Since all lives are interdependent, it makes sense to focus on the positive thoughts and enjoy the interactions with others. This grandfather/grandson team offers an interesting, intergenerational spin on motivational material.

The power of positive thinking certainly helps me realize my goals.

By JoAnna Carey, Author of Rat Race Relaxer: Your Potential & The Maze of Life


Rating:
Summary: Quantitative Proof That Positive Thinking Really Works!
Review: Finally! A book that quantifiably proves the power of positive thinking, in quantifiable, measurable psychological studies.

I really love this book. Wow, What a simple concept. When you're feeling high your invisible bucket is full, when your feeling low--your bucket is empty....and when you interact with others you are either filling your bucket and theirs OR you are emptying your bucket and theirs. Its amazing how simple and true this idea is.

After reading this book, I started rating my interactions with each person I dealt with throughout the day. I put a number on the amount of drops each person gave me (or took away from me) It was an amazing experience. Finally I understood why I felt so down after just saying hello to an extremely negative person. I would go into such a bad mood out of the blue.

Let me give you an example. The other day when working through an issue with someone who was having difficulty with his system; I starting helping him, but things weren't going fast enough for him, so he started to use all kinds of swear words because his program wasn't working.

I started to feel uncomfortable and my mind filled up with thoughts of negativity. Why? Because his negative energy! He was emptying my bucket! Yes, swearing is a form of negative energy. And when it's said in anger it very destructive too!

On the other hand, the other day when I met someone on the street whom I did not see in awhile...when she greeted me with a nice big friendly 'hello! How are you?' and began telling me how her day went, her positive energy literally filed my bucket. I felt really happy and motivated after talking to her. She was full of positive energy and her bucket was so overflowing that--she couldn't help but put me in a good mood. (By the way, come to think of it, I never heard her complain about anything--even when things weren't going very well for her. She is one of those extremely positive type of people. She must be filling buckets all day long!)

Another bucket filling example. When I was asked to provide feedback (work performance) on someone people I had to worked with on various projects, I put down some real positive stuff for a guy that really deserved it. He is also one of those happy, great attitude type kind of people. Anyways as a kind gesture I emailed him what I wrote.

A few days later, I met him in the hallway and he told me that he appreciated the kind words I wrote on behalf of him so much that he printed it out and brought it home to show his wife! I was amazed. I thought I was giving him a pat on the back--but he took it as if I was giving him a badge of honor! I felt so good that I went home and told my wife, who was so impressed by me that and she started filling my bucket!

Yes, this book may be short, but don't confuse the amount of pages with value. By applying the principles contained in this book you will dramatically increase the quality of your life. On this book you can say less is more!

Zev Saftlas, author of Motivation That Works and founder of
www.EmpoweringMessages.com

Rating:
Summary: Old ideas repackaged in an easy read
Review: I have read this advice in about 100 other self help books but not in this format. Basically the author says that if you lead a constructive life, you will get returns. I agree with the concept of treating others the way they want to be treated. I don't agree with the author's dated views on dealing with negativity. If you ban negativity from your life, it doesn't go away. It whispers, then yells at you. I recommend Optimal Thinking: How To Be Your Best Self for individuals and organizations to learn how to deal with negativity, gain understanding about suboptimal positive thinking and learn how to make the most of any situation. I also recommend Learned Optimism to learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of optimism.

Rating:
Summary: Easy concepts, huge returns...
Review: I just finished a very short book with some interesting concepts. It's called How Full Is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, Ph. D.

The book is a self-improvement title for developing "positive strategies for work and life". They use the metaphor of a bucket and dipper to explain how your everyday interactions with others can have lasting impacts for both parties. If you have a negative interaction, it's like taking your dipper and removing liquid from their bucket. Positive words and interactions have the opposite effect. You're using your dipper to add to their bucket, and in the process you add to your own. And as one's bucket is filled, it becomes much easier to share that overflow with others.

The authors have a number of studies that show the very real benefits of positive interactions, both mentally and physically. They also use a number of real-life stories showing how even a single positive interaction can turn around someone's life and have far-reaching effects. This isn't to say that you have to walk around all happy and cheery all the time, but it does force you to look at how you approach others and what effect you might be having on them (and yourself).

The changes this book offers are simple and easy to implement, and the payback can be large. A recommended read if you're looking to make some changes in your life.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful book about Positive Psychology.
Review: I loved HOW FULL IS YOUR BUCKET? by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, a small but powerful book that introduced me to the concept of Positive Psychology . . . instead of focusing on what's wrong with people, Rath and his grandfather (who died shortly before BUCKET was published)
studied how positive interactions can make a big difference in both our work and personal lives.

They contend that we all have a bucket that needs to constantly be filled with praise and recognition . . . however, what's too often the case is that we tend to forget this and instead act in a negative fashion toward each other--thus taking away from the bucket.

There were many examples that apply to virtually any situation . . . methinks that just about anybody could benefit from reading HOW FULL IS YOUR BUCKET?, particularly if we keep in mind the fact that the authors report that "ninety-nine out of every 100 percent report that they want to be around more positive people" . . . they go on to add that "9 out of 10 report being more productive when they're around positive people."

There were several memorable passages; among them:
* Before arriving, Ken recalls successes and achievements he has heard over the past few months involving people in that office. As soon as he arrives, Ken casually visits with these individuals and congratulates them. He may offer kudos to an employee who recently got married or had a child or praise someone who gave a great presentation. His favorite line is: "I've been hearing a lot of good talk behind your back."

* Our schools, which are built around "core curricula" that students have to learn regardless of their interests or natural talents, reinforce this kind of thinking. When a child excels at a subject and receives an A, what happens? Rather than recognizing and developing areas of talent, teachers and parents skip past the A and focus on raising the lower grades on the report card. And very few principals or guidance counselors are known for "calling students into the office"
to discuss outstanding grades.

And, lastly, this one got me really thinking:
* Of course, few moments are this profound, but even less memorable interactions are important. Positive Psychology experts are finding that the frequency of small, positive acts is critical. John Gottman's pioneering research on marriages suggests there is a "magic ratio" of 5 to 1-in terms of our balance of positive to negative interactions. Gottman found that marriages are significantly more likely to succeed when the couple's interactions are near that 5 to 1 ratio of positive to negative. When the ratio approaches 1 to 1, marriages "cascade to divorce."


Rating:
Summary: Catching FIRE in High Schools
Review: My Dad gave me this book. I read it and was so moved by it's positive and practical wisdom. My boyfriend Geoff (goes to a different High School) read it and passed it on. Since then all of my friends (and Geoff's) have bought a copy, as well as our teachers and parents. This book multiplies! "Bucket speak" has permeated the halls of both of our High Schools.

I am 18 and inspecting many areas of my life, (College, Relationships, etc.) and this hit at a time when I needed it the most. And obviously it is speaking volumes and touching the hearts of many other kids my age.

Rating:
Summary: Good book, but mostly common sense
Review: The book did a wonderful job in helping you realize how social interactions at all levels (whether significant or not) affect the outcome of your mood. I think the authors had great details in supporting their arguement. After reading this book I couldn't help but think about my social life and how to make it better. This is a must read.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting read, but.....
Review: The first chapter entitled "Negativety Kills" cites negativity as the major cause of death among American POW's during the Korean War. This couldn't be further from the truth. Certainly some prisoners did mentally "give up" and die but starvation, torture, exposure to the freezing temperatures, and puposeful killing by the North Koreans and Chinese were the primary causes of death. A more accurate source for the treatment of the POW's is "Remembered Prisoners of a Forgotten War" by Lewis H. Carlson.



Rating:
Summary: One of the simplest to follow books.
Review: Written with the simple concept that we all have this bucket that we carry around with us all the time, every place we go. In this bucket we keep our emotions. Sometimes we add to our bucket, a kind word, a pat on the shoulder - usually little things, rarely big things like a raise or promotion. Sometimes we dip things out of our bucket, a negative thought, a cruel deed.

The rewards of a full bucket are immense, not only a generally more productive life, but a longer happier life. Strange as it may seem, happy people live about ten years longer than grouchy people. This little book, only 128 pages won't take you long to read. The lessons in it are simple, straight forward, and easy to implement. It makes you feel better, it makes the people with whom you interact feel better, and you'll live longer.