Tom Rath has written an inspirational book entitled “How Full is Your Bucket?” The premise of the book is the theory of the bucket and the dipper. This theory is quite simple but yet profound.
His Bucket and Dipper Theory states that every one of us has an invisible bucket that is constantly emptied or filled. Whether it is empty or full depends on what others say or do to us. According to the theory, when our bucket is full we feel great. Conversely, when our bucket is empty, we feel terrible.
The theory also states that we all have an invisible dipper that we use to fill the bucket of others. When we say or do things that make others feel good, we not only fill their bucket, but our own as well.
However, if we dip from their bucket and make them feel bad, we also make ourselves feel badly. According to Rath’s theory, a full bucket will give us a positive outlook, make us stronger, and more optimistic; while an empty bucket poisons out outlook, saps our energy, and undermines our will. Rath states that’s why every time someone dips from our bucket, it hurts us.
We are experiencing a time like no other. Who could have known that wearing face masks and the term “social distancing” would now be our norm? But here we are. Life during a pandemic is very stressful and challenging to say the least. What a perfect times to keep our buckets full and to fill the buckets of others.
Just a drop in the bucket. An idiom. Because a bucket of water is made up of thousands of drops of water, one drop of water doesn’t differentiate itself from the other drops. How much of difference does one single drop of water make when it takes thousands of drops to fill a bucket?
“Without water drops, there can be no oceans; without steps, there can be no stairs; without small things, there can be no big things!” ~~ Mehmet Murat Ildan
Mother Teresa said to do small things with great love. One drop in the bucket.
Next time there are rain drops falling from the sky, provide an umbrella escort for a mother or an elderly person entering a store or to their car. It may seem like a drop in the bucket to you, but to them it may mean a thousand drops.
