We all know that negativity is harmful. But did you know it costs the US economy an estimated $300 billions a year? And this is just one country; if we add all the countries, then the cost will be astronomically high!
We all have momentary interactions with people every day. These interactions can be positive, negative or neutral. Dr Daniel Kahneman, winner of the 2002 Nobel prize in Economics, suggests that there are approximately 20,000 moments in a given day, and each one lasts about 3 seconds. Those 3-seconds interactions are rarely neutral; they are almost always positive or negative. And we can deliberately choose to make them positive or negative.
Dr Donald O. Clifton, often called as the grandfather of Positive Psychology has done a lot of research on effects of positivity on people and organizations. He created the "Theory of the Dipper and the Bucket" more than a decade ago. To put this theory in simple words, we all have a metaphorical bucket. The bucket is filled by positive interactions and emptied by negative ones.
We feel great when our buckets are full, and rotten when they are are not. We also have a metaphorical dipper that we can use to empty or fill other people's buckets; but when we fill others' buckets, we also fill our own. Thus an organization populated by people with "full buckets" would have much more positive energy than one of people with "empty buckets", and would be more productive and profitable.
So what does this theory have to do with our relationships, whether at work or home?
Our relationships with people are formed by small moments, and they are crucial both in business and in personal lives. Dr Clifton and Tom Rath have discovered a 3:1 ratio; when a work team has more than three positive interactions for every one negative interaction, it is significantly more likely to be productive. When the positive interactions are lower than that, team is significantly less productive.
However wanting a more positive environment isn't enough. We need to do something, but not overwhelm people with positive emotions by cutting out negative emotions completely. Ignoring negative things that need to be changed is destructive! Instead, we should focus on the way we are treating other people in our brief interactions with them. For example, managers who start the conversation by focusing on a few good things that the employee has accomplished, then moving on to areas that need improvement, set up a more positive framework for discussion.
Therefore in conclusion, let us all aim to fill our buckets with positive interactions as much as possible for more fulfilling relationships.
We all have momentary interactions with people every day. These interactions can be positive, negative or neutral. Dr Daniel Kahneman, winner of the 2002 Nobel prize in Economics, suggests that there are approximately 20,000 moments in a given day, and each one lasts about 3 seconds. Those 3-seconds interactions are rarely neutral; they are almost always positive or negative. And we can deliberately choose to make them positive or negative.
Dr Donald O. Clifton, often called as the grandfather of Positive Psychology has done a lot of research on effects of positivity on people and organizations. He created the "Theory of the Dipper and the Bucket" more than a decade ago. To put this theory in simple words, we all have a metaphorical bucket. The bucket is filled by positive interactions and emptied by negative ones.
We feel great when our buckets are full, and rotten when they are are not. We also have a metaphorical dipper that we can use to empty or fill other people's buckets; but when we fill others' buckets, we also fill our own. Thus an organization populated by people with "full buckets" would have much more positive energy than one of people with "empty buckets", and would be more productive and profitable.
So what does this theory have to do with our relationships, whether at work or home?
Our relationships with people are formed by small moments, and they are crucial both in business and in personal lives. Dr Clifton and Tom Rath have discovered a 3:1 ratio; when a work team has more than three positive interactions for every one negative interaction, it is significantly more likely to be productive. When the positive interactions are lower than that, team is significantly less productive.
However wanting a more positive environment isn't enough. We need to do something, but not overwhelm people with positive emotions by cutting out negative emotions completely. Ignoring negative things that need to be changed is destructive! Instead, we should focus on the way we are treating other people in our brief interactions with them. For example, managers who start the conversation by focusing on a few good things that the employee has accomplished, then moving on to areas that need improvement, set up a more positive framework for discussion.
Therefore in conclusion, let us all aim to fill our buckets with positive interactions as much as possible for more fulfilling relationships.
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