Self-motivation can be a good thing. If you happen to be working in the trucking industry, some of the work-related or personal goals that motivate you may not be so easy to achieve. Yet if you have the right approach to embracing challenges in your personal and professional life, you may start to see results that matter most to you. This is why our value for this month is challenge.
Simply put, “challenge” is defined as something that’s new and sometimes difficult to achieve. However, with enough effort and determination, you may be able to overcome those difficulties and enjoy the confidence that comes from meeting your goals. In the world of trucking, a challenge might involve:
• Reaching a point where revenue is steady if you’re an owner-operator
• Managing a larger fleet
• Consistently delivering loads on time
• Finding a better work-life balance
• Developing healthier eating habits while on the road
You’re not going always going to be able to decide what personal or professional challenges you choose to embrace. To put it bluntly, there will be times when life hands you lemons. In order to end up with a tasty glass of lemonade, you need the right perspective to turn those unexpected challenges into something good.
The value in challenge comes from the personal satisfaction you get when you achieve your goals. Start off by thinking big. Then narrow down your focus on what you can personally do to turn your challenges into successes.
Even people like Michael Phelps, Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, and Jeff Gordon who are universality lauded for their many achievements have times when the goals they have in mind aren’t in line with what’s actually achieved. For instance, you might want to turn your one-person operation into something bigger.
But let’s say your first attempts at securing the necessary funds to do this have failed. Instead of giving up, you might consider partnering with another single owner-operator or seeking alternative sources of financing. When you get sidelined by the unexpected, shift your frame of mind and overcome challenges by:
• Looking for opportunities instead of being bogged down my frustrations
• Accepting what you can’t change
• Knowing when to get a helping hand from friends, family members, and fellow truckers as you embrace your challenges
• Changing the game plan when you reach a wall or become too overwhelmed by your challenges (e.g., setting different goals, going about resolving a problem in another way)
At Pay4Freight, we make it easy for anyone in the trucking industry to turn challenges into something positive and productive with our flexible and affordable approach to freight factoring. We’re also a reliable source of useful information truckers and owner-operators can use to make well-informed decisions. Explore our services and programs today.