David
Pollay
Read David's bio and previous columns
October 29, 2007
The Law of the Garbage
Truck™
(Due to the
popularity of this column, we are re-running it with additional
material.)
How often do you let
other people’s nonsense change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude
waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless
you’re the Terminator, you’re probably set back on your heels.
However, the mark of
your success is how quickly you can refocus on what’s important in your
life.
Sixteen years ago I
learned this lesson. And I learned it in the back of a New York City
taxi cab. Here’s what happened.
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, the car
skidded, the tires squealed, and at the very last moment our car stopped
just one inch from the other car’s back-end.
I couldn’t believe it.
But then I couldn’t believe what happened next. The driver of the other
car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around
and started yelling bad words at us. How do I know? Ask any New Yorker,
some words in New York come with a special face. And he even threw in a
one finger salute. I couldn’t believe it!
But then here’s what
really blew me away. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy.
And I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, “Why did you just do that!?
This guy could have killed us!” And this is when my taxi driver told me
what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck™.” He said:
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 look for a place to dump it. And if you let them, they’ll
dump it on you.
So when someone
wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish
them well, and move on. Believe me. You’ll be happier.
So 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 or on
the street? It was then that I said, “I don’t want their garbage and I’m
not going to spread it anymore.”
I began to see Garbage
Trucks. Like in the movie “The Sixth Sense,” the little boy said, “I see
Dead People.” Well now “I see Garbage Trucks.” I see the load they’re
carrying. I see them coming to dump it. And like my taxi driver, I don’t
take it personally. I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.
One of my favorite
football players of all time was Walter Payton. Every day on the
football field, after being tackled, he would jump up as quickly as he
hit the ground. He never dwelled on a hit. Payton was ready to make the
next play his best. Over the years the best players from around the
world in every sport have played this way: Tiger Woods, Nadia Comaneci,
Muhammad Ali, Bjorn Borg, Chris Evert, Michael Jordan, Jackie Robinson,
and Pele are just some of those players. And the most inspiring leaders
have lived this way: Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, and Martin
Luther King.
Roy Baumeister, a
psychology researcher from the University of Florida, found in his
extensive research that you remember bad things more often than good
things in your life. You store the bad memories more easily, and you
recall them more frequently.
So the odds are
against you when a Garbage Truck comes your way. But when you follow The
Law of the Garbage Truck™, you take back control of your life. You make
room for the good by letting go of the bad.
The best leaders know
that they have to be ready for their next meeting. The best sales people
know that they have to be ready for their next client. And the best
parents know that they have to be ready to welcome their children home
from school with hugs and kisses, no matter how many garbage trucks they
might have faced that day. All of us know that we have to be fully
present, and at our best for the people we care about.
The bottom line is
that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their life.
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.
David J. Pollay
is a syndicated
columnist with North Star Writers Group, creator and host of “The
Happiness Answer™” television program, an internationally sought-after
speaker and seminar leader, and the author of “Beware of Garbage
Trucks!™ - The Law of the Garbage Truck™.” Mr. Pollay is the
founder and president of TheMomentumProject.com, a strengths-based
training and consulting organization with offices in Delray Beach,
Florida and Washington D.C. Mr. Pollay is also the associate executive
director of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA).
Email him at
david@themomentumproject.com.
© 2007 David J. Pollay.
Distributed by North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without
permission.
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