By Jeremy Stickling, CAO
If only the virtues of life were forged easily! Instead, life experiences often make up the building blocks of who you are: the successes and the good times. But perhaps to a greater extent, the failures and the not-so-good times.
After being asked to comment on the Nussbaum core value of character, naturally, my mind went to a comic strip – Calvin and Hobbes.
There is a theme throughout the comic where Calvin must do things that he does not like doing (such as camping), and his dad sanctimoniously reminds him that it builds character. Calvin’s dad may make us laugh, but isn’t it true?
My mind then turns to the job lifestyle of the professional truck driver. If there ever was a profession where an individual must work through frustrations, trucking is it!
Let’s list a few: motorist behavior, changing schedules, canceled loads, looking for parking while on the clock, denied the use of restroom facilities, short weekends, missed birthday parties, 3rd class treatment at a customer, the safety stress of maneuvering 80,000 pounds…should I continue?
Calvin’s dad would salivate at the character-building bonanza!
Maybe this is the reason we find the Professional Truck Driver to be so resilient. You get up every day, tackling a job lifestyle that much of the world can’t handle. You use the challenges and frustrations that would erode others to build yourself in a positive way.
The result is a strong character.
Thank you for the inspiration, and thank you for being a Professional Truck Driver!
