Driver Ambassador: July Post-Trip Inspection

As those in the trucking industry know, the Post-Trip Inspection is a time to check and see if anything has changed with your equipment since you began your trip and if there are any items that need to be addressed before continuing on down the road. It’s a time to assess, reflect and plan what’s next. 

REFLECT

This week I am reflecting on Inspiration. Typically, I do not spend much time planning out big things like 5-year goals or smaller tasks like my blog topics. I tend to wait for inspiration and then just roll with it.

One of my personal goals this year is to be a bit less spontaneous and a bit more thoughtful. I’m not entirely sure how that will go for me as I have totally been a grab life by the horns kind of gal, BUT it’s time I give longterm goal setting a good college try.

ASSESS

I need to have meaning in my life and I am driven by a guiding desire to “make a difference.” Allowing my inspirations to be my pilot has served me well, but sometimes they just don’t show up. The problem with waiting for inspiration is that, in the absence of it, I sometimes find myself sitting in a quagmire feeling that meaning or value is lacking in my life or maybe just a dull sense of stagnancy or “directionlessness.” It’s not a great place to be in and certainly we’ve all had moments in time where inspiration was missing.

When I joined the trucking industry, I was so excited and full of pride. I enjoyed all the learning challenges I encountered, and life could not have been more fun, exciting or rewarding. I eventually came to the shocking realization that not everyone had the same zeal for this industry. I was treated poorly by some shippers, security guards, friends, the general public, other 4-wheel drivers and even the law on one instance.

That’s when Inspiration hit me and yet again fueled my need to make a difference.

I invested my time and energy looking for my tribe who believed that the driver’s experience could be better and who I could work with to solve the problems I saw. Along the way, I kept educating myself and had conversations with decision makers in the industry to learn if there was a legit reason that justified the conditions professional drivers had to endure or if the industry architects were blissfully oblivious to some of the issues facing women and all other professional drivers and mechanics. You can guess which it is. ☺

Along my journey I was not interested in social media chat rooms – I was looking for a professional development track to learn why things are run the way they are, avenues to highlight drivers’ importance while shining lights on driver challenges and contributions. Slowly but surely, I was becoming an influencer within our industry and country.

It all prepared me to meet my true tribe four years ago at a truck show. That’s when I came across the Women In Trucking Association (WIT). I was impressed with the vision and mission to make a difference for drivers in the transportation industry, especially women.

PLAN

I don’t want to become unmoored from this stimulant as it guides my fire. I want to work with, and encourage others to work with, organizations like WIT on long term solutions to collectively address important issues, be part of the movement to affect change in our industry and share the great opportunities available to those considering a career in the transportation industry. That’s my plan.

What are your inspirations? What fuels you? What change do you seek to make in the world?