Changed My Mood

I was walking out of my office today to get to my car and go to another school for a meeting when I saw an 18 wheeler blocking my parked car. My parking spot is located right across from Central Receiving. Trucks stop by all the time to drop off deliveries for our school district. Because of an ongoing construction project, there is a dumpster located right next to Central Receiving, making it more difficult for trucks to park when making deliveries. In this instance, there was no way for me to get around the vehicle. I knew that was going to be late if I did not find the truck driver and get him to move his truck soon. He was not in his vehicle, and no one was in Central Receiving. I was starting to get frustrated. 

A few seconds later, I saw the truck driver was walking towards me. Right behind him was a forklift moving towards the truck. Both the driver and the forklift operator waved to me. The driver said hello and apologized for blocking me in. I started to realize that my issue was not his fault, but I was not out of the woods yet. The forklift operator asked if I could give him a minute as he had to unload one pallet from the 18-wheeler, and then they would be out of the way. The politeness of both the driver and the forklift operator changed my mood. I was no longer angry. I called my secretary so she could inform my meeting participants that I would be a few minutes late and I waited for the workers to do their jobs.

They were a great example of how to act, mainly when circumstances cause one to impose upon others. Apologize, take responsibility, and make sure that the person who feels put out realizes that it was not personal (or out of laziness, or out of disregard for ohters, etc.)

The truck driver pulled out, and I was finally able to get on my way. As we were leaving the parking lot, he pulled over and waved me on. This guy was on a roll with his acts of kindness. I was lucky that day to be surrounded by people whom I have never met before, and raised me to a higher level.

Every day is an Interview.