The "human Centipede" Theory Of Why Trainers Are Horrible To Their Trainees.

Although Brett makes some fantastic points about the behavior and appearance of drivers in general, I think the problem is much more basic than that. It really comes down to a psychological mindset of bully vs. victim, and it's something you see regularly across the whole of society, especially in school-age children.

On the schoolyard, you'd have a kid get bullied. Once he was done having his lunch money stolen and his nose bloodied, he'd turn around and take his frustrations out on an even weaker and lesser kid. That's pretty much exactly the same scenario you have here. These guys who are more tormentor than mentor to their trainees are under the delusion that they're being bullied or persecuted by the guys in the office, and are taking their frustrations out on their trainees, who are the lowest rung on the ladder. It's childish, immature, and ridiculous, but let's face it, a lot of guys stop maturing about the age of 11.

This job is inherently very stressful and dangerous. It makes many drivers very salty. Defense mechanisms become rampant. They become salted to the point that they are old pickles and then the old pickles are training cucumbers. What a perfect breeding ground for personality conflicts. Many times when you hear about a bad trainer, the trainer isn't actually bad. Many times the cucumber just can't handle the pickle.

I find this post very interesting. First off I have not seen the movie based on my knowledge of the premise :) Secondly, my guy is doing his TNT as we speak and all he talks about is how many different trainers have tried to get him to go with them, with varying promises of more money, or home time, etc. Maybe he is the exception though, after reading this thread. Appreciate the insight! <3

You should be very proud of your guy if that's the experience he's having here. He must be showing initiative and promise, or maybe he's just networking really well, but he must be doing a great job. Let him know how proud of him you are because this TNT period will be the most difficult span of time he will have in his career.

A lot of outstanding insights from everyone! I agree with everything I'm reading.

Once again I appreciate your perspective Brett. I'm curious if whether it is a natural propensity of yours to have such insight into the dynamics of the human condition or if you in fact have some formal training in psychology?

I've done a lot of reading over the years but no formal education. A lot of what I've discovered comes from endless hours of trying to logically deduce what people could possibly be thinking, because rarely do people think, act, or speak very logically. So when you encounter someone who doesn't seem to be taking a logical approach to things you know it's emotionally driven and probably stems from some psychological issue they're dealing with.

One of my favorite quotes of all time:

“When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity.”

-- Dale Carnegie, "How to Win Friends and Influence People"

If you keep that in mind when trying to figure out how to work with people it will help immensely. I'm a very logical person. I try to think, act, and speak logically which to me only makes sense....logically. If you want to drive yourself into the looney bin at the speed of light then spend your time trying to figure out the logic behind most people's words, thoughts, and actions. It's a maddening exercise.

Eventually you come to realize what Carnegie said is true. People have lots of motivators in their lives, but logic is rarely the dominant force that drives them through everyday life. You have to figure out the psychological roadblocks that are preventing someone from being more logical. Once you can figure out what the issues might be that are motivating someone's behavior you have them figured out well enough to interact with them in a positive way, or at least as positive as it's going to get.

My favorite "people book" of all time is "Celestine Prophecy". To me, that is the bible of human interaction. I couldn't get through a paragraph without jumping up and pacing around the room because of a new insight that finally made sense of something for me. It also teaches how to deal with people's emotional problems and their ways of manipulating people. It was, for me, one of the most fascinating reads of all time.

I should clarify what I meant by my earlier response on this thread. Im sure I could do the psd/tnt ordeal again but definitely not sure if I'd want to and God willing, I wouldn't need to. 3 months on the same truck with the same person 7 days a week is definitely an ordeal. Prime is awesome, but I know other companies have shorter training periods. I'm sure I could and would do it again, but I sure hope I don't ever have to.

And by the way, I shower and workout daily on the road. Always prepare my own meals. I wrestled and lifted weights for years and years and that was biggest obstacle preventing me from going through this one year period of paying your dues and it's what I miss the most, sparring and the gym. I have weights with me on the truck, have a jump rope, and I have my riding bike with me. Jog all the time to. This is in reference to what brett was saying about how other Truck drivers conduct and carry themselves. I find a way I don't find an excuse. I'm actually a fan of the uniforms that some other Truck companies. I like it looks more professional. This really is a very professional job.

My apologies I'm doing this from my phone and misspelled some words and left some out