Is Your Bucket Full?

I was talking with a friend yesterday, and we were discussing the now ever-present problem of not enough time and not enough mental resources to deal with all the information and data that bombards us daily.

I said to him, “It feels like my mind is a bucket filled up with cherry Kool-Aid. When it fills up, there’s no room for more stuff without the liquid overflowing the sides. And when things overflow, it makes a huge mess!”

When your mind is too full, you can’t take on more “stuff” without your cherry Kool-Aid sloshing over the sides… and let me tell you, as a grandpa of two active little boys, cherry Kool-Aid makes one helluva mess no matter what you spill it on!

Is your mind or business life too full? Do you feel like you can’t take on another thing without bursting or “going crazy”?

If so, here are a few suggestions for clearing things out:

#1 – Make a list of all the things you’re working on right now and pick the NUMBER ONE most important thing. Work on that until it’s either done or to the point where someone else can take over.

#2 – Get back in touch with WHY you’re doing everything you’re doing in the first place. If everything you do is only for the almighty dollar (or pound, or yen), then your go-power will soon peter out. You need a reason bigger than yourself to get you over the rough spots.

#3 – Make work fun! Get out from behind the computer and try different settings and different mediums. Try working outside on your iPad. Go sit in your easy chair with paper and pen. Go crazy on your whiteboard and use every color marker you have. Sometimes work feels like work because you’re in a rut. Maybe you just need a change of scenery and input.

When their bucket is overflowing, most people think about how they can make their bucket bigger (take on MORE)… but that’s NOT the solution.

Think about this…

A bucket that’s 10% full of gold is worth a LOT MORE than a bucket that’s 100% full of sand (no matter how pretty and white the sand)… and the gold-filled bucket still has 90% of the room left for things (other than work) that are truly important to you.

Get rid of the crap that’s not working for you mentally, physically, and emotionally… empty out your bucket and fill it up first with the most valuable things you want in your life right now!