By Nelly Favis-Villafuerte Whether we admit it or not, many workers both in the private and public sectors are suffering from low morale.  Referred to sometimes as “motivation malnourishment.”  Come to think of it – motivation malnourishment is prevalent not only in this country but in other countries as well.  Not only within the export sector but in other sectors of society, as well. When our morale is low, sincere words of appreciation, words of encouragement, and words of praise are most welcomed… to make us feel important. One of the deepest cravings of human beings is the need to feel appreciated and to feel important.  Fortunately, there are many people who refuse to see the bad in anyone.  There are a number of biographies and autobiographies of great people of various nationalities where it is mentioned how somebody the great people knew influenced their lives by giving a word of encouragement, assuring them, stimulating them, and inspiring them to make the best possible use of their potential abilities.  And the great people lived up to the compliments and encouragement that they received. On the other hand, there are people who have a bitter outlook in life and every word that comes out from their lips are hurting statements and comments that belittle others.  What is tragic is that these hurtful remarks are emotional excess baggage that some people carry up to their adult years.  Others bring the hurtful negative remarks to their graves.  Negative remarks result in many drop-outs from schools.  Negative remarks deaden our zest for living. Have you heard about the dipper and the bucket story?  Do you know that each of us has an invisible bucket?  This invisible bucket is either full or empty depending on what others say or do to us.  When our bucket is full, we feel good.  When it’s empty, we feel bad.  Each of us also has an invisible dipper used either to fill other people’s buckets (when we say or do things to encourage others) or to dip from others’ buckets (saying or doing acts to discourage others).  Every moment of our life, we make the choice of either filling up others’ buckets or dipping from them.  The choice we make, through the choice refers to the simplest or briefest interactions, affects our relationships, productivity, health, and zest for life. The story about the dipper and the bucket is just a simple metaphor to highlight the deepest craving of human nature – and that is the need to feel appreciated, to be encouraged, to be recognized, and to be praised.  This practice of filling other people’s buckets is just reaffirmation of the value of caring and compassionate relationship.  Also, this story of the dipper and the bucket reminds us of the important need of understanding human potential and motivation and its relation to positive and negative emotions. Do you know that we experience about 20,000 individual moments in a waking day?  These moments which may last only a few seconds are almost always positive or negative.  Meaning that a single encounter or interaction can change our life forever.  Simple words like “I believe in you,” “I care about you,” or “I am very proud of you” have inspired and motivated children who turned out to be successful and well-adjusted citizens in their communities. Indeed, morale is a big thing in life. Have a joyful day! (For comments/reactions please send to Ms. Villafuerte’s email: [email protected])