How Full Are Your Energy Buckets?

Our lives are complex. We’re constantly pouring our energy into different “buckets.” Physically. Relationally. Vocationally. Spiritually. When these buckets are full, we’re at our best. We feel happy. Energetic. Carefree. Work seems like play. Our families are happy with us. Problems seem to bounce right off us. Nothing gets us down.

But the reality is, these buckets don’t stay full. There is a hole in the bottom of each of them — they leak. So we need to constantly refill them. The thing is, you can only refill a couple of buckets at a time. While you’re putting energy back into one bucket, another one is draining. You have to be intentional about which bucket you fill and when.

When you’re feeling anxious, defensive, alone, less than your best, it’s likely because you have at least one bucket that is significantly low. Most of the time, we wait until a bucket is low to fill it up. But the negative impact of a bucket that drains from 50 percent to 25 percent full is greater than dropping from 100 percent to 75 percent.

We always need to be aware of the current levels in our buckets — and to be proactive, rather than reactive, about filling them. Fill them before they’re empty. Not after. No one can fill your bucket but you. That is your responsibility and yours alone. And when life gets hard, it’s even more important to pay attention to keeping your energy buckets full.

So how about you? How full are your energy buckets? You can’t do the good the world needs if your buckets are empty. What will you do to fill them today?