My Life As A Rookie Driver

Just when I thought my BAD LUCK was going to stop, I had a light go out on me. Also the air line for my seat also has a hole in it. I sent a message to breakdown. I am grabbing some food and heading back to the truck.

Dave

By far the toughest part about trucking is handling the endless stream of challenges you'll face day after day, month after month, year after year. It never ends.

What you have to be really careful about is two things - "keeping score" and having what I refer to as a "negativity filter".

People who believe they have bad luck overall tend to have a "negativity filter" that somehow only allows them to remember the negatives and gives the negatives a heavier weighting than anything positive that happens. They could find a $100 bill laying in the parking lot on the way into the truck stop, be the 100th customer that day and win a free meal, and then have a pretty girl smile and wink at them as they walk outside. But if they so much as bump their knee climbing back into the truck, they get all aggravated about their bad luck and their day is shot because like always, something has to go wrong.

You can spot these types coming from a mile away. They look frazzled and exhausted. They always seem to have a look of exasperation on their face. Their posture is slouchy and they seem like they're hanging on by a thread. And their face would probably crack if they actually smiled.

You'll find that most trucking veterans are either as pleasant and content as a monk, or really grouchy and miserable. It seems like there's no in between most of the time. And that's because people tend to "keep score" as they go through life and their bias toward positive or negative events will build up over time. Eventually you develop a tremendously positive or negative take on things.

Trucking is so incredibly challenging and so full of pitfalls that you have to be really careful about how you perceive things in your day to day travels. Is a light going out or a hole in your air line bad luck, or is it just part of your job? You could say it's both. But beautiful scenery, interesting people, and exciting adventures are also part of the job and part of all of the good luck you'll have every day out there.

Neither good luck nor bad luck will ever end. You won't go a day without a little bit of both. Just be very careful about what you decide is important, and what you brush aside as nothing to be concerned with.

When things would get rough for me I'd always remind myself of a line from a song:

"Don't you worry...sometimes you've just gotta let it ride"

The song is totally unrelated to trucking, but that one line always stuck with me and snapped me out of it when I was letting things get to me.

We all have to vent sometimes and this is the perfect place to do it - where we can all relate to each other and the challenges we face out there. And it's also the perfect place to have someone cheer you up with a reminder of just how lucky you are. Keep smiling and just "let it ride" when the little things come up - because they always will.

I tend to be negative and skeptical. It seems that whenever I get optimistic and positive about somthing, life tends to throw lemons my way.

Dave

I think we all have problems being thrown at us all the time....(no matter what we do for a living).....When you are on the road, it seems worse...It can seem like "you against the world" at times...Just do your best to keep your perspective...Hang in there..

Well last time I threw tread, otherwise known as a "gator." Today, I had a blowout. Not bad, as far as blowouts go. I heard an audible pop and a hissing sound. I knew right from the start that one of my tires blew. I pulled over to the side, to check, and just like I thought, a nice neat SMALL hole (looks like a gash) in my tire.

Dave

It seems that whenever I get optimistic and positive about somthing, life tends to throw lemons my way.

Dave

So when life throws you lemons, make lemonade.

I tend to try and look for the positive in life. I find that when I look for the positive, the negative is so small that I almost don't see it.

Not to say I don't have my days, but they are so few & far between, I almost can't remember when the last time was.

Ernie

Dave,

We all have periods when we have a negative thought or two. The key is, how fast you can put them behind you. What has happened can not be undone so put it behind you and continue forward. The brain is a powerful thing. I have a little exercise to show just how powerful the negative or positive thinking can be. (Trust me, I didn't originate it, but use it to prove the power of positive thinking.) Have someone hold their arm out horizontal to the floor and have them think about something that they don't do very well. When they get that fixed in their mind, have them tell you and then press down on the arm. Now do the exact same think only with a picture of something that they are very good at. You will find that it takes a lot more effort to push that arm down with the positive thoughts.

Also, when you are kicking yourself for a bad decision/bad luck (thinking about it) you may be setting yourself up for another one because valuable energy is being used to berate you or others rather than processing the incoming information

Another thing is to review the goods and, what I refer to as "others", at the end of the day. Is there anything that you could do different that would have avoided or improved the situation? That flat tire is out of your control so let it go. What could you do different to get backed into a tight spot with fewer pull ups? That one you analyze and work through and you will find the next time will go smoother.

May sound squirrely and I still have to work at it some days, but work it does.

Larry

Just wanted to know if high hooking a trailer and it drops to it's landing gear undamaged and I only had to have the electrical line replaced on the tractor will get me fired. I reacted properly had the load repowered and had the load repowered we were picking up after that delivered. 2 big wreckers and a new cable on the tractor approx. 2850later. It was my error, my team mate ignored me when I asked him for help. I was more embarrassed for my company having such an amature employee representing them than I am for any disposition that may occur. Sittin at company drop yard since Saturday morning.

From 60 y/o and an entire working career in the oil industry the adventure of driving is my main reason for getting in it. I have to admit that my initial perception of this business turned me off after listening to my brother (who is a Pertebuilt mechanic) told me of how sometimes he would smell the stench of old urine and stuff in some of the trucks that came into his work place. Now after obtaining my CDL and this forum, I came to find out that there are some really neat folks on the road and have a lot of good experience and useful information to offer....