Look through how the past few days went this week. How many interactions would you guess you had?
Scientist Daniel Kahneman, who won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, says we have up to 20,000 interactions every day! Even if they last for a few seconds, they count.
The interactions could be in person, on the phone, internet, TV, or any other way that you interact with a person or a message. If you look at it that way, that really is a lot of interacting.
How much of that is positive?
Probably not a whole lot of positive if the majority of your interactions come through social media or TV. It is just the times we are living in. And the negative ones are the ones that tend to stick out and where we tend to focus.
In the book "How Full Is Your Bucket" psychologists Donald O. Clifton and Tom Rath use a metaphor that I think is very impactful. We are all buckets that need to be filled with positivity (compliments, praise, encouragement). When we act negatively to someone else, we are taking a spoon and scooping out some their much needed positivity.
On the other hand, when we speak light into someone and lift them up we not only add to their bucket, but ours as well. How awesome is that? Two for one special.
If that is not enough to motivate you, scientists have stated that positive emotions are an essential daily requirement for survival. The physical and mental benefits of positivity are numerous, while negativity has been shown to reduce immunity and increase depression.
Your homework is to keep your bucket full! Do random acts of kindness, smile at a stranger, give an unexpected gift, call your mom, compliment a co-worker, focus on the good, or do something that helps the world become just a little brighter.
I hope my posts are a small does of positivity for you during the week. When you feel good about yourself, you tend to take better care of yourself.
I really appreciate you reading these messages. Have an awesome weekend.
Love this! Thanks
Glad you like it! You just filled both of our buckets, thank you 🙂