The Mindful Trucker
THE WAY AND THE WHY OF TRUCKING ARE YOU A WAY THINKER OR A WHY THINKER? By Dana Smith
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HAT COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU HEAR THE TERM, “THE WAY OF THE WORLD”? MAYBE YOU THINK OF THE WAY IT’S ALWAYS BEEN DONE. I HAVE HEARD THIS QUOTE MANY TIMES OVER THE YEARS. You’re talking to someone about something, and the other person says oh, “It’s just the way of the world.” Kind of like, “that’s the way the cookie crumbles”. But what does that even mean? Let’s start with “the way of the world.” It’s a very general quote. It’s almost as if one has given up, and accepted that’s just the way it is, the way everyone has always done things. An example may be that you have worked for the same company within your trucking career for 20 years, and you may have had thoughts about changing that career, but you don’t! You will have that pension at the end, the security you think you need, and off you go into the sunset, with no fear of change. I call this the Golden Handcuffs. Millions of people do this year-afteryear. You just keep plugging away at the same job, day-after-day. Many are unhappy, but they will not make that shift. Is it money that drives them; is it fear of change, the unknown, have they settled for the status quo? Or could it be that it’s just “ the way of the world?” Everyone has their own reasons for what they do, how they live their life, and following the path they take. Thankfully they do, as life would be pretty boring if we all did the same thing. I have heard this quote in business as well. “We are doing it this way because that’s the way we have always done it”. That may have worked well in the old way of thinking, but it is a different world we live in now. Running your trucking business has changed. Throughout the industrial age, people went to work in labour jobs, and typically stayed until they retired. It was just “the way of the world.” Everyone seemed to want that job security. In trucking it was no different. A big pool of drivers were there to pick from. They had the skill to do the job, and were willing to work hard and long hours to get the job done. Trucking is a hard lifestyle, on the road away from your fam20
autoatlantic.com
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july / august 2022
