My daughter Aven just turned 2.5 years old. Watching her grow is THE most amazing thing I’ve EVER witnessed. I LOVE seeing her change and grow, especially the growth of her mind. Her decisions, her emotions, her thought processes; get more and more complex every day. One thing Aven has always been fond of is collecting things. She loves to make a container out of anything that has space, and collect things inside. She loves to collect rocks, coins, shells, blocks – really anything that is collectible. She will stuff purses, bags, boxes full of silly things and carry them around with her like treasures.
The other day, Aven was carrying around a plastic bucket. She was filling it with her favorite toys, and she kept seeing new things she wanted to add to her bucket. Pretty soon, it was overflowing, and when she’d walk with it, things would fall out. She would get totally frustrated and try to stuff them in, only to have other toys fall out. I told her, “No sweetie, your bucket is full, you’ll have to leave some things there, it doesn’t all fit.” She wouldn’t listen to me (surprise, surprise), and would try with great frustration to GET IT ALL IN HER BUCKET. She wasted time, got frustrated, and ended up giving up – she kicked over the bucket and stomped off (what a 2 year old right?). She just couldn’t let go of a few things in order to move forward. She was too focused on wanting it ALL in the bucket.
What are you trying to squeeze into your bucket, and it’s just overflowing? Are you not able to move forward because you’re too busy messing with your overflowing bucket? We all have a bucket – a capacity. We all have a limited number of things that can go into it.
Even though our bucket is overflowing… WE STILL see new and fun things we want to ADD to our bucket. Are you unwilling to remove things from your bucket, for the sake of the new things that go in? What do you have to say NO to in order to say YES to something else?
What if what’s in your bucket is heavy, burdensome, or depressing? Maybe your bucket is full of CRAP that you don’t love. Wouldn’t it be amazing to empty out that bucket, so that it can be full of the things that LIGHT you UP?
Today I want to encourage you to take stock of what’s in your bucket. What’s in your life, that doesn’t NEED to be. What can you LET GO OF, to make room for those things that bring you REAL joy?
Happy Friday! Wishing you a relaxing weekend with JOY-FILLED buckets! xo!
Emma does same thing with filling up bags and buckets full of toys. It must be a 2 year old thing. As for me, I was just thinking about what I need to remove from my bucket and while it won’t be easy I know it will be worth it. Thanks for the encouragement!
Aww, so sweet! It was so crazy to see it through a child’s eyes, yet we do the same thing! I think it can be as simple as setting boundaries on things. That way, each thing has it’s time in the bucket, and it’s never too full.
Pingback: your YES list | Design Life Project - Work. Play. Live & Love.
I’ve really enjoyed your blog! It’s just as inspiring and thought provoking like your session at AH Inspired!
I’m in the process of getting rid of things in my bucket and it’s so hard but I know I want to make room for more important things. Things that matter the most to me.
GO Paulene GO!!! Thank you SO much for your kind words!!
Love the idea of the bucket and I can very much relate to it. As I am happily enjoying my summer break I might even sketch my bucket to have a clear Picture of what’s inside and what might have to leave. Thank you very much, such a wonderful idea!
That would be fantastic!! I’d love to see it if you do! Or even just let us know WHAT you’re taking out of it / letting go!
Pingback: What’s in your bucket? | nicseventysix's Blog
LOVE this!
What a great analogy to cleaning out the proverbial closets of our being.
A good reminder to have a good look at what we’re all “carrying around in our buckets” and make sure we really want it to be there!