what to do when "calming down" doesn't work?

Time is the only thing that will bring about either a numbness to the BS or an "understanding and acceptance" of the BS, one and/or the other. Nothing else will ultimately work. If you're going to fight it or try and rationalize it early on, you're in for a miserable time.

Or. Remember the old saying "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em"? Maybe that's an option for you.

 

My parents raised me to think of myself as the least important person on the planet. Jesus first, yourself last, and others in between.

It truly helps. Everyone who cuts me off must have something more important to do then I do. It doesn't get to me. I have been fired from most every trucking company out there. Doesn't bother me. Something better comes along. Dispatchers who are clueless? Good thing they are behind a desk and not the wheel. Customers being hateful? Sorry you are having a bad day is there anything I can do to help?

Just remember the old saying, This too shall pass.

 

A good old fashioned doobie usually relieves excess stress

 

I'm 53 and into my 31st year accident free by the grace of God .
One day a few years ago I woke up and decided I'm sick and tired of the treadmill mentality of this business and bein stressed out all the time and everything doesent have to be perfect.
I drive a 15k car and live in an average home .
I don't care about impressing anyone with my truck and sure don't give a pinch of diddly what some driver manager ( tin God) thinks .

 

Smoke a bowl. Always calms me down.

 

Until you can get passed the mega fleet. Make yourself a DM stress toy. Put his / her likeness on a ball, doesn't have to be a perfect image, and when they take a giant #### on you, take your stress toy and rub it on your balls & your ###, and thank your DM for ####ting on you.

Get out of the truck. Go for walks. Develop an exercise routine. Become disciplined and better yourself in some way while you pass the time, until you can get hired on by a real company, don't go the other way and lose little bits of yourself.

There are days when I drive around saying more " Our Father's " & " Hail Mary's" than a lot of priests.

 

nothing wrong with company. it depends on the company or person. something i can say is. there is no such thing as a safe hooker. if take someone with you from home. you need to make sure you can gett along with them in a truck for an extended period of time. even they will get fatigued from doing nothing but hold the jump seat or mattress down.

 

I went through that about two years ago. I work for a very small fleet (15 trucks), and the daily grind of the same phone calls, same customers, and just everything in general had me at wits end. Couple that with the realization that I am at the top of the heap at this company, with the most seniority, I have nowhere higher to go here, I was miserable.

Well, the boss took notice, pulled me aside one day, and we spent half a day in a meeting yelling at each other. It was actually fun! He gave me some of the best advice I've ever received. He said " do what you want, what makes you happy. Don't worry about money, if you're doing what you love, the money will follow".

Through this, I realized that what I'm doing is actually great for me. My wife had recently had a miscarriage, we were devastated beyond belief. Somehow, being in the truck helped tremendously. I'd turn the phone, the cb and the radio off, and just drive.

That winter when work slowed down, I took some time off, for "me". Best thing I ever did. Got away from the truck, left the phone turned off, and just took time to decompress. (Until then I'd been working nonstop since high school, in 2000.) I came back in the spring with a new sense of purpose, a new vision of where I want to be in ten years (owning this company), and just a greater appreciation of life in general.


Find what makes you happy and do it. The money will follow. If the path gets stale, step off for a while and take the break you may need.

Trust me, it's worth it!

 

what use to do when i was really tired from having to stay out for a couple months at a time. I would get a suite in a hotel for the night. and get off the truck completely. and now that i run a trucking business. it's not any less stress sit in any office all day. it gets so boring at times, that I can hear the clicks on the second hand. and before i hear atleast you get the nights and weekends off. bullllll ***t!!! maybe for an average office worker. that there office isn't at home. oh,and the phone never stops ringing. I shut the ringer off at 7 p.m. on the main phone. and the drivers only call me on the emergency line. after 7 p.m. or later. it better be a good reason to call.