Wellness and The Bucket Theory
By Jacob Inman, for Revive Your Life
An empty bucket...Is yours overflowing?
Why is it that some people seem to be so content and healthy both physically and emotionally when others are struggling with various health issues their entire life? How can some people work 14-hour days and be full of life and energy while others struggle to get out of bed at all each morning?
It comes down to the fact that, individually, each of us can handle only a certain (and very specific) amount of negative influences in our lives. I’ve heard it referred to as “The Bucket Theory” and, the concept is really quite simple. The “bucket” is meant to contain all of those things that contribute to poor health and well-being such as the foods we eat, substances we consume, polluted air we breathe, allergens we are exposed to, emotional/mental stressors that we deal with, etc. The impact of these negative exposures is additive. The more we are exposed to them, the more full our buckets become and the more likely we are to experience poor health - whether the symptoms (or diseases) that arise be physical, emotional, or more likely, a combination of both.
We do, however, have the ability to manage the contents level of the bucket by engaging in activities which have a positive influence on our health such as practicing proper nutrition, exercising regularly, and getting enough sleep. These positive activities have the ability to offset the negative influences and are even powerful enough to reverse cumulative negative exposures, essentially decreasing the contents level of our buckets.
It’s very likely that at some point (or at multiple times) in our lives, our buckets will become full or may even overflow. When this happens, it will be quite obvious that something has gone awry and that we need to make drastic changes in our lives in order to get a solid footing and start feeling well again. At the point of overflow, feeling better takes a lot of effort, and it’s usually at this time we have no choice but to learn how to manage the contents level of our buckets.
Unfortunately, many people do not realize that each of us have a different tolerance for negative influence in our lives. Individual tolerance is, in essence, the size of our own bucket, which can vary greatly from person to person. There are other factors that impact our tolerance as well. For example, maybe you feel better or worse, on average, during certain times of the year.
In my experience, I know that I have a greater potential to create an overflow during the summer and fall months which is prime allergy season for me. I know that my body is already taxed because of the allergic response, so I must be sure to get adequate amounts of sleep, stay well hydrated, shy away from excessive amounts of alcohol, and limit my intake of unhealthy foods. When I start to feel moody or fatigued, I can most often times look back over the past week or so and, if I’m honest with myself, see that I have likely taken part in many more bucket-filling activities than bucket-emptying activities.
Many people have commented that they feel most on edge during the holidays, often a time of high stress and anxiety. You may feel that you are more relaxed during this time as everyone is different.
When it comes to your health and well-being, it is not necessarily the size of your bucket that matters, it is your understanding of the current contents level of your bucket and what you need to do to manage an optimally healthy level. After all, it’s not about having a bucket that is empty, for that would really be no fun at all. The real key is to comprehend how big our own bucket is and the lifestyle that we need to lead if we expect to avoid an overflow.
By consistently thinking about your life in the context of your health and The Bucket Theory, you will soon realize that you are more in control of your health and emotions, and have a stronger overall sense of well-being. You will definitely be more in-tune to what your body is telling you, and if you listen, you should notice positive results.
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Thanks for this post on “the bucket theory’. I’ve had the opportunity to work on thousands of people from over 50 countries and I can verify that everybody’s buckets are so different, and runneth over at different times and in different ways if they don’t manage the “contents”.
Wellness is about more than just the contents of our buckets. It involves our stories about the contents, how we feel about them and how we respond to life because of them.
Thanks again, I’ll use this metaphor more often.
Dr. John Amaral DC
http://www.twitter.com/johnamaral
Dr. Amaral,
Thanks for your insight and experience on the topic of wellness. I agree that wellness has many facets, some of which are not part of the specific choices we make, but rather our own perception of those choices.
Thanks again for contributing your thoughts.
Interesting idea about the bucket theory. I also resonate well with the idea that it is not the size of our bucket that matters but rather an understanding of what we need to know if we are not experiencing good health. Great post!