Beware of Garbage Trucks
By David J. Pollay
How often do you let other people's nonsense change your mood?
Do you let bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive colleague ruin
your day? Unless you're a robot, you are bound to blow your top off.
However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly he or she can get back
his or her focus on what's important.
Sixteen years ago, I learned this lesson. I learn it in the
back of a New York City taxi cab. Here's what happen.
I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station.
We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car
jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on
his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car's back end by just inches!
The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big
accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us.
My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean he
was really friendly. So, I said, 'Why did you do that? This guy almost
ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'
And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now called,
'The Law of the Garbage Truck'.
Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of
garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As
their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. If they happen to dump it
on you, don't take it personally.
You just smile, wave, wish them well, and moved on. You'll be
happier if you did that rather than fight them.
So this was it: 'The Law of the Garbage Truck'..
I started thinking, how often do I let garbage trucks run
right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other
people: at work, at home, on the street? It was that day I said, 'I'm not going
to do it anymore.' I see garbage trucks everywhere and everyday. I see the load
they're carrying. I see them coming to drop it off. And like my taxi driver I
don't make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move
on.
Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting. Good
parents know they have to welcome their kids home from school with hugs and
kisses . Teachers and parents know that they have to be fully present and at
their best for the people they care about.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over
their day. What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today, if
you let more garbage trucks pass you by?
Here's my bet. You'll be happier.
So...love the people who treat you right.
Forget about the ones who don't.
Believe that every thing happens for a reason.
If you get a chance, TAKE IT!
If it changes your life, LET IT!
Nobody said it would be easy...
They just promised it would be WORTH IT
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