Mindset story: A simple lesson of "The Law of the Garbage Truck"

One day a man hopped in a taxi and told the driver he is in a hurry to the airport. The man explained to the taxi driver that he overslept and now needs him to speed it up and that money is not an issue. The taxi driver proceeded as usual. As they were driving in the right lane suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of them. The taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!

The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at the two of them. The taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And when the man asked the taxi driver, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!” This is when the taxi driver pulled over and gave the man a quick lesson about “The law of the garbage truck.”

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it personally, just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

With that lesson, the man calmed down and decided to try out “The law of the garbage truck” himself.