The Law of The Garbage Truck!™

The Law of the Garbage Truck™ is posted below.
(also known as “Beware of Garbage Trucks!™”)
copyright 2007 David J. Pollay

Hi Everyone!

Thank you so much for connecting with me and The No Garbage Trucks!™ Revolution! The joy of my work is connecting with good people from all around the world. Together, we are committed to enjoying every day, doing what we love, and making a meaningful difference with our lives!

Below, I am posting my column “The Law of the Garbage Truck™,” also known as “Beware of Garbage Trucks!™.” I discovered the Law of the Garbage Truck™ almost two decades ago and I have been writing about it in my newspaper columns and speaking about it in my workshops ever since.

The Law of the Garbage Truck™ has been widely traveling the internet: It has been posted to thousands of blogs and has been sent in mass emails to millions of people. And now, I want you to receive it directly from me.

Please share with me how you are applying The Law of the Garbage Truck™ in your life, and how your life has changed since you took The No Garbage Trucks!™ Pledge. I have heard hundreds of stories, and each one means a lot to me.

And if you are interested in reprinting The Law of the Garbage Truck™ or The No Garbage Trucks!™ Pledge, let me know.

Thank you for continuing to support and acknowledge my work; I am deeply grateful.

My best to you,

David

p.s. The North Star Writers Group syndicates my columns. And here are three other great sites where you can find The Law of the Garbage Truck™ and many of my other columns: Happy News, Positive Psychology Daily News, Boomer Times & Senior Life.
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The Law of the Garbage Truck™ copyright 2007 David J. Pollay

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 he 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.

See, 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 the author of “Beware of Garbage Trucks!™ - The Law of the Garbage Truck™. Visit www.bewareofgarbagetrucks.com to join the No Garbage Trucks! Revolution. His book, The Law of the Garbage Truck™, is due out this summer. Mr. 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 founder and president of TheMomentumProject.com.