The Right Attitude, To Get The Job Done

Today was a bit hectic and it brought to mind something I think is key that sometimes gets overlooked by new and old alike. Attitude.

So I've had a jam packed week, full of ups and downs. I was really looking forward to my reset and placed myself in a great location. 16 hours into my reset I get a call "hey, we've got a hot load that we need moving, somethings come up and you are closest. Can you assist?". So I check my hours and see I have 9 hours and 10 minutes left in my week. I snag the load info and see I have 8 hours to arrive, hook, and make it to the shipper. Drive time was 2 hours to the load and 5 1/2 to destination. Margin of error..low considering I'd need to take the mandatory 30.

Needless to say, I arrived on-time (super close) and without incident. Shipper and receiver are both ecstatic that the load they anticipated being late arrived on time.

Brings me full circle to attitude. Yes, this wiped out my perfect off time plans. Yes, I'm now parked in the boonies with nothing to do. however, I accepted the load without complaint and achieved the best possible results. All because I didn't sulk, complain, and drag my feet cause my day got ruined. Sometimes you just gotta get er done.

Excellent Sir, Congrats on gettin r done. I know the feeling. Yesterday I planned on making it to my first stop but 3 hrs from destination blew a trailer tire in the middle of nowhere. By the time it was fixed I was short on hours to make it to the stop so I finished a break and rolled. I pushed through and am now actually 2 stops ahead of schedule. Adapt, improvise and overcome

Great job Keith. "Attitude is everything" is one cliche I'm very much in agreement with.

On that subject I was reading an article recently from a guy who does long distance winter hikes. He was giving tips for staying warm during extended stays outside in the winter. Interestingly enough his #1 tip was to have a great attitude. He said, to paraphrase, that if you go into it with a lousy attitude thinking you're going to be cold and miserable you almost certainly will be. If you embrace the challenge and accept the opportunity with appreciation for being able to take on such a challenge in the first place you'll enjoy it and perform so much better.

I also read an article recently on endurance running and they've found that people who continuously try to convince themselves that they feel great perform much better than when they have a negative attitude. The mind literally affects the body's performance simply based on what you choose to believe or tell yourself.

Another big effect you'll notice about having a great attitude is the way the people react to you. When you're really friendly and positive and considerate you'll find that people treat you so much better than those who are not. It affects everyone. Your waitress will bring you better service, the mechanic will get your truck fixed more quickly, the DOT officer will let you off with only a warning, and the dock workers will get you loaded or unloaded sooner.

Adapt, improvise and overcome

That really is critical in trucking. Trucking is one of the most dynamic environments you'll find anywhere. You're at the mercy of a million variables every day, almost none of which you have any control over. You just have to go with the flow and don't sweat the small stuff.

Sounds like you read some good stuff. Which I fully agree with! In the Army I did plenty of road marches that when I let the suck reach me it was miserable, but when I kept a strong commitment to success those blisters or sore muscles didn't really feel that bad. The mind is a powerful force.