Fear Factor
Copyright Sandy Long
Lucius Annaeus Seneca: “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear-not absence of fear.”
We are all afraid at times; of that black cloud ahead of us, that icy road, of trying something new, being alone, changing jobs, failure, and if you are like me, of snakes. Just because we are afraid, does that mean that we stay at home in bed, under the covers and never face our fears? No, of course it doesn’t.
Fear comes in many guises, paranoia, anxiety, worry, claustrophobia and all the other phobias for a few. I am claustrophobic; I sleep with a night light at home and have a problem in tunnels and caves. Does this mean that I never sleep in the complete dark or never go into tunnels or caves? No, it doesn’t, it just means that every time I have to face that fear of enclosed dark places, I experience some sort of anxiety symptoms such as sweaty palms and increased respiration, but I still do what it takes to do what I have to do.
Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn By Living. 1960
You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself. "I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along."
Recently, during my job search, I spoke with a lady recruiter that had come into the office from the road. She related that she had run team with her husband for quite awhile and went solo when he decided to quit the road. She admitted that she had a hard time dealing with the fears she felt while being solo, but even though fearful most of the time, she still ran solo for two years.
I have many fears, as most of us have. My biggest fear that I have to deal with almost daily is when backing into a dock between two tractors, that I might hit one of them. I have learned to adapt to it by getting out and looking much more often than most, asking someone to watch my blind side, if there is someone around, and backing at a very slow idle speed…which I do anyway. I have heard of some lady drivers that will actually ask another driver to back their truck in for them…that I never do because how else will I overcome the fear and continue to do what I do?
Marie Curie
“Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.”
A new company that I was going to work for ran the Northwest in the winter time. This brought up a fear that I hadn’t anticipated. Though I have run many miles through the western mountains in the winter time with no problems, it was always as a team driver. I had that security of knowing that if I got in a real problem, I could rely on my co driver’s support, advice or driving skills to cut my slack. I run solo now. A friend helped me deal with that fear. He asked me what I was. I had to think a few minutes to realize what he was getting at, then it dawned on me…I am an experienced truck driver and will cope with whatever comes; relying on experience, knowledge and skill.
Understanding that fear is prevalent in our minds is the first step to conquering that fear. Some fears may be irrational, such as my claustrophobia, but once I realized that it was linked to my being pinned in the sleeper after a wreck in the dark for a couple of hours, that fear was easier to deal with. Some fears, such as the very real fear of hitting another truck while backing can be overcome with extra care taken. Some fears that we lady drivers have to face such as the fear of being victims of violence, are also very real, but must be dealt with no matter where we are or what we do.
Anonymous
“Fear not that your life will someday end. Fear only that you do nothing with it.”
In trucking we face a fear every day even though we rarely speak of it, that of dying in a split second from any second we are in. It is a fact and to do this job, we have to ignore the fear. As truckers, and specially lady drivers, there won’t be any medals for us, no parades in our honor, no mention of us in the history books, but among ourselves, though rarely spoken of, we know we are courageous. We drivers overcome fears everyday that would send most folks running for the safety of their homes because we know deep down that what we do is important to our families, friends, and country.
Franklin Roosevelt said it best when he said: “the only thing we have to fear, is fear it’s self.” Conquering fear is what makes us what we are…truckers.
Copyright Sandy Long
Lucius Annaeus Seneca: “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear-not absence of fear.”
We are all afraid at times; of that black cloud ahead of us, that icy road, of trying something new, being alone, changing jobs, failure, and if you are like me, of snakes. Just because we are afraid, does that mean that we stay at home in bed, under the covers and never face our fears? No, of course it doesn’t.
Fear comes in many guises, paranoia, anxiety, worry, claustrophobia and all the other phobias for a few. I am claustrophobic; I sleep with a night light at home and have a problem in tunnels and caves. Does this mean that I never sleep in the complete dark or never go into tunnels or caves? No, it doesn’t, it just means that every time I have to face that fear of enclosed dark places, I experience some sort of anxiety symptoms such as sweaty palms and increased respiration, but I still do what it takes to do what I have to do.
Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn By Living. 1960
You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself. "I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along."
Recently, during my job search, I spoke with a lady recruiter that had come into the office from the road. She related that she had run team with her husband for quite awhile and went solo when he decided to quit the road. She admitted that she had a hard time dealing with the fears she felt while being solo, but even though fearful most of the time, she still ran solo for two years.
I have many fears, as most of us have. My biggest fear that I have to deal with almost daily is when backing into a dock between two tractors, that I might hit one of them. I have learned to adapt to it by getting out and looking much more often than most, asking someone to watch my blind side, if there is someone around, and backing at a very slow idle speed…which I do anyway. I have heard of some lady drivers that will actually ask another driver to back their truck in for them…that I never do because how else will I overcome the fear and continue to do what I do?
Marie Curie
“Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.”
A new company that I was going to work for ran the Northwest in the winter time. This brought up a fear that I hadn’t anticipated. Though I have run many miles through the western mountains in the winter time with no problems, it was always as a team driver. I had that security of knowing that if I got in a real problem, I could rely on my co driver’s support, advice or driving skills to cut my slack. I run solo now. A friend helped me deal with that fear. He asked me what I was. I had to think a few minutes to realize what he was getting at, then it dawned on me…I am an experienced truck driver and will cope with whatever comes; relying on experience, knowledge and skill.
Understanding that fear is prevalent in our minds is the first step to conquering that fear. Some fears may be irrational, such as my claustrophobia, but once I realized that it was linked to my being pinned in the sleeper after a wreck in the dark for a couple of hours, that fear was easier to deal with. Some fears, such as the very real fear of hitting another truck while backing can be overcome with extra care taken. Some fears that we lady drivers have to face such as the fear of being victims of violence, are also very real, but must be dealt with no matter where we are or what we do.
Anonymous
“Fear not that your life will someday end. Fear only that you do nothing with it.”
In trucking we face a fear every day even though we rarely speak of it, that of dying in a split second from any second we are in. It is a fact and to do this job, we have to ignore the fear. As truckers, and specially lady drivers, there won’t be any medals for us, no parades in our honor, no mention of us in the history books, but among ourselves, though rarely spoken of, we know we are courageous. We drivers overcome fears everyday that would send most folks running for the safety of their homes because we know deep down that what we do is important to our families, friends, and country.
Franklin Roosevelt said it best when he said: “the only thing we have to fear, is fear it’s self.” Conquering fear is what makes us what we are…truckers.