Buckets of Responsibilities
Let’s free up time and space. A friend of mine is drowning in a sea of overwhelming responsibilities. They have far too much to do and too little time to do it. They have been told:
Success takes sacrifice.
Sadly, the biggest sacrifice my friend is making is in their personal life. They are too busy for friends, family and fun. And now, their health is starting to suffer. My friend knows something needs to change before a major illness develops. They just can’t seem to stop running on empty.
I want to help my friend, but they said I can’t. They said they need to do it on their own.
No one can help me. It’s my responsibility.
I wondered if that was completely true. I have often carried the weight of the world on my shoulders with an overblown sense of responsibility. Eventually, I learned my beliefs were more flawed than my actions.
The Bucket Game
I invited my friend to play The Bucket Game. It’s a simple game designed to uncover limiting belief systems.
Let’s take all your responsibilities and all your “to-do” lists, and dump them into three buckets:
Bucket #1: I do it.
Bucket #2: Someone else does it.
Bucket #3: It doesn’t get done.
Take the time to write it down.
When my friend played, they immediately started laughing. Bucket #2 was nearly empty and clearly showed their limiting belief.
My friend struggles to ask for help or receive help. It makes them feel weak. When they were a kid, they had to do everything on their own. They never learned another way – until now.
With new beliefs come new actions. My friend no longer walks alone. They now believe:
No one realizes their full potential without help from others.
With a newly filled Bucket #2, my friend now has the time and space for friends, family and fun.
What happens when you play The Bucket Game?
With new beliefs come new actions.
I’ve played the The Bucket Game with many friends over the years. I’ve seen people struggle with all the buckets.
What limiting belief stands in your way?
When Bucket #1 is nearly empty, we look at how we view our own abilities.
When Bucket #2 is nearly empty, we look at how we view our support systems.
When Bucket #3 is nearly empty, we look at how we view our magic.
Bucket #3 is magical for two reasons. Either whatever we thought needed to be done simply doesn’t need to be done. Or, angels will show up to do it. A friend of mine who has seven children explained Bucket #3:
I don’t remember ever dusting my house. I think the kids just played on the furniture.
That is exactly how Bucket #3 works. When raising angelic children, a spotless home might be more theoretical than practical. And sometimes, things get done magically – even if we’re not the ones to do it.
Once we shift our beliefs, life is more fun and fulfilling.
Bucket #1 is an opportunity to become more responsible.
Bucket #2 is an opportunity to become more resourceful.
Bucket #3 is an opportunity to become more radiant.
Bucket #4
I have a friend who struggles the most with Bucket #3. They fear leaving something undone would lead to a mediocre life. They absolutely refuse to change their beliefs and settle for anything less than self-generated perfection.
This limiting belief produces crippling anxiety within my friend. To ease their pain, we decided to add a fourth bucket.
I do it.
Someone else does it.
It doesn’t get done.
Not yet.
With the fourth bucket, my friend is fast learning some responsibilities can wait. There is freedom in the phrase: Not Yet. No lives will be lost if we put some of our responsibilities on hold.
The fourth bucket frees up a little time and space. It’s a step in the right direction – especially when you remember Change comes in Chapters.
When our three or four Buckets of Responsibilities are balanced, we have much more time and space for our friends, family and fun.
Let’s free up time and space. Life is short. Don’t let an overwhelming sense of responsibility rob you of a fun and fulfilling life.
