Stress

June in the moving business = STRESS

Everyone around the country wants to move at the same time, the same last two weeks of June.
Military members, Government services employees, all people under every National account and residential customers.
Thousands upon thousands of people criss crossing around the country wanting to settle in before August.

No matter how big you are as a Moving Company you will never have enough trucks or drivers to accommodate everyone, it is just logistically impossible.

You do your best and try to help as many as possible, now a days that takes in many options, freight, rail road, traler transits , transfers, straight trucks, tractor trailers, drivers pulling more than one trailer , we all try it all. And for the most part we are successful but there are times that we step on our best intentions.
And if you care than you stress.
You can't help it, you want things to go well and when they do not you take it personal, after all these are important belongings to someone and a stressful time in their lives. You want everything to go well.

At the end of a move that hug the driver gets from a customer is what it is all about. So when things go wrong or not as planned it normally can start a domino of problems and in June it can soon become a landslide. By the end of the day or week you are drained, both emotionally and physically.

I have been though 29 Junes now and they never get easy. They are always challenging and bring out the stress in everyone. People deal with stress differently and that becomes more of the challenge. In operations you need to deal with your own stress and the stress of others around you. In is always a ride down the rapids of emotions and for me a learning experience. I learn about myself and how to deal with my emotions as well as how others react and how I need to react to them and the circumstances.

Life is always a great big learning experience, a merry go round that we are all on. How we react and what we say and do is always a choice. You need to prioritize and take deep breaths and try your best not to have knee jerk reactions. Easier said than done when you are in the moment.

When the dust clears you hope you are better for it and that you learn and grow and at the end of the day or week you need to be able to tell yourself that you gave it your best effort. And in June in the moving business that means going beyond what you think your capabilities are.

Live and learn........and FORGIVE.

The Value in Giving

A very good story that I stumbled upon.....


From what we get in life, we make a living. From what we give, we make a life.” Arthur Ashe


So much time is spent on getting what we want out of life – focusing on our goals, defining and achieving our dreams, moving up, moving ahead, and moving past obstacles (and people) that stand in our way.

 Getting is important; it is definitely part of what makes life worth living. A part we often overlook is giving. Giving of ourselves – our time, our friendship, our guidance, our support. It is in the giving, that we often find life even more worth living.

  The sense of relief and gratitude from colleagues when we put down our own task at hand and focus on the challenges that are tearing them up. The renewed motivation and inspiration for work that emanates from our direct reports when we freely give our guidance and expertise to help them further their careers and fulfill their personal aspirations.

  Or the look on a child’s face or the feel of their hug when we comfort them or spend uninterrupted time with them doing exactly what they want to do.
  The connection with a loved one when we put their needs before our own.

Recently I came upon a woman in a parking garage who was frantic. The garage would only accept cash and she had none. She could not drive out of the garage without paying the attendant forty dollars. I was waiting behind her and getting a bit annoyed and impatient. After all, I had things to do! As I listened, I put my normal suspicion and skepticism aside and offered to pay for her car.

  The look of surprise and relief on her face confirmed once again that small acts of kindness have lasting impact.
  Later I received a check and a moving note from the woman with heartfelt appreciation.

There is a great value in selfishness and self-care, and we write of both those often.
 There is also a huge value in giving what we have to others, because it is in the giving that we truly connect, and that we receive more for ourselves in the end. -

Final Posting on Positive Attitudes

10. Live With Gratitude

So many positive things happen during our day and we often ignore them while letting one negative comment or event ruin our mood.
If you’re reading this then you probably live with a roof over your head and food in your belly which is a daily struggle for most of the world… so it should be easy to find tons of things you’re grateful for.

11. Recharge Your Batteries

A key to maintaining your positive attitude is taking the time to recharge your batteries. This might mean taking a few hours on the weekend to read a positive book or taking a few weeks for a holiday. If you’re not in the position to travel you can always have a Home Holiday where you simply switch off from the outside world and spend time doing things you love.

How To Use These 11 Tips

You now have 11 tips for maintaining your positive attitude but they are no use to you unless you implement them into your life. So pick the easiest tip or the one that you really love and introduce it into your life starting right now. Then over time start implementing the other tips and watch your positivity soar.

Remember - the choice is yours......

Positive Attitudes .. Part 3

7. Show Your Appreciation For Others

By appreciating others for a job well done, their outfit or their smile you start to cause a positive chain reaction. Don’t you feel great when you receive a compliment from someone else? Well if you want to receive more then start giving them out and watch what happens to the people around you.

8. Garbage In, Garbage Out

This is an expression from programming where the result is only as good as the input. So if you’re feeding yourself with negativity all day long then it’s pretty obvious you’re going to be feeling negative as well. A lot of the media including news and TV thrive on negativity so put yourself on a negativity diet (including people) and watch how much easier it is to maintain your positive attitude.

9. Stop Negative Thoughts In Their Tracks

It’s hard to be a constantly positive person and negative thoughts are going to bubble up from time to time. These will be more frequent in the beginning but decrease as you practice the tips we’re talking about. When you start to notice negative thoughts you can use a pattern interrupt to stop them in their tracks.
The idea is to interrupt your current thought pattern and change your state.

We will sum up our 11 tips on Positive Attitudes tomorrow...

More on Positive Attitudes

4. Use Books, Audio And Videos To Overload Your Brain With Positivity

There are millions of amazing books, audios and videos for you to absorb from people who are inspiring and living the life of their dreams. Tap into their positive emotions and their experience by learning how they think and what they do to create the lives they want. You can do this in the morning or while driving, eating, commuting, cooking, folding pads in your trailer… there’s always time for positivity.

5. Your Language Shapes Your Thoughts

Little changes in your language can change the way you think and how you act. Whenever someone greets you and asks how you’re doing do you answer with “fine” or “not too bad?” Think about just what this language is communicating to others… and yourself.
I always answer with “great,” “fantastic,” or “amazing.” Not only does this remind me that life really is great but it usually surprises and lifts the state of the person I’m talking to as well.

6. Hang Out With Positive People

It is often said that you will have a similar level of health, income and lifestyle as the 5 people you spend the most time with. So if you want to be fit then starting hanging out with fit people… want to start a business then hang out with business owners. And if you want to be positive make sure you’re hanging out with positive people.
This sounds simple but it is a BIGGIE with drivers...negativety breeds more negativety. Do not allow it , it will do no ggod. I have seen this time and time agin with drivers, they allow others to get in their heads and it destroys them.

More tomorrow.

11 Tips for Maintaining a Positive Attitude

Maintaining your positive attitude is critical when you want to achieve anything… or just to improve the quality of your life. Most success literature will talk about the power of positive thinking and how important it is. It’s often easier said than done.

This week we’ll look at 11 tips for maintaining your positive attitude no matter what’s going on in your life.

1. You Determine Your Reality

It’s important to realize that you determine your reality by the way you react to the outside world. When something happens you get to choose whether it’s a positive or negative experience and react accordingly.

2. Start Your Day Strong

Most of the population have to drag themselves out of bed and this sets a negative frame for their entire day. Positive people create a morning ritual that reinforces how great life is and how happy they are to be alive.
 I start my day by reading or listening to something positive. Whether you have 1 minute, 15 minutes or an hour to dedicate to your ritual you can start the day in whatever state you prefer.

3. Exercise Is The Natural Feel Good Drug

Exercise is a great way to maintain your positive attitude because of all the positive chemicals it releases into the blood stream.

More tomorrow

Posting on Blame

Road Warrior has left a new comment on your post "Blame":

I just ran into the "BLAME GAME"....3'rd party crater,took the measurements from IDUNNOWHERE?And pre made the crates,needless to say,3 fit,7 did not.They were 90 miles from their saw and SLINGING the "IT'S NOT MY FAULT"BULLSHIT....Let me back up,they were due at 8 am and got there at 4:30,They ended up getting wardrobe cartons from me to build large mirrors,still wanted to blame the one who gave them the measurements.......I told them we needed results not "not my fault"bullshit,just get it packed.....Another 11pm night....YUP..I FIXED IT....


From all of us....

God bless our Drivers.....at the end of the day you are asked to pick up the pieces and make sense out of what can be a down right crazy situation and one that you did not create.
Those can be the most frustrating ones because you had nothing to do with the situation or lack of communication or as in this case a third party dropping the ball but YOU are the person on the job.
Those are the toughest times bit those are also the times that separate the man from the boys and the elite from the average.



You are the Best......THANK YOU !