In another thread about carrier choice and the relative importance of miles and revenue per mile, Blizzard said, "But, hey, it's all in an individuals perception of reality."
That prompted a response from me that, on second thought, made more sense as a new thread on the perception of reality topic. Here it is:
Very true, Blizzard. Very true.
That then brings us to the decisions we make about how we choose to perceive reality. Different loads, different weeks and different months tend to be remembered differently and the differences can skew our beliefs and perceptions.
For example, Diane and I had a fantastic month in June. Number-wise, it was the second-best month we have had in our year with Landstar and one of the best months we have had in nine years of expediting. Included in that 17,000-mile month was a cross-country run that paid $2.95 per mile, all miles. Another long run paid us $1.95 per mile, including that rate on over 1,000 miles of deadhead so we could get back to civilization after delivering in remote Canada. One run paid over $13,000 to the truck! In the entire month we ran nothing for less than $1.75 a mile, all miles, and only once did we run at that "low" rate. We were feeling the glow, that's for sure.
But feeling the glow (or feeling the pain) is where trouble can set in if you let your feelings influence your perception of reality. When we were feeling the glow, it became very easy to forget the pain we felt a few weeks ago when we sat in Milwaukee one day and then Chicago for the rest of the week and could not buy a load out.
Granted, we then had a directional need to get east or south to make a pick up that was scheduled for the next week (and loads were offered that would have taken us north and west), but it did not seem like too much to ask to get east or south out of Chicago (Chicago!).
It was very painful and disappointing to sit in that area for a week. At that point, we were seriously thinking, not about changing carriers, but about opening our minds to begin researching that possibility. Without question, that was the worst and most painful week we have had since signing on with Landstar, and that pain affected our thoughts and our perception of reality in a negative way, just as the June joy affected our perception in a positive way.
Negative feelings tend to prompt negative thoughts that support them. Negative thoughts tend to prompt negative feelings that support them. So too with positive feelings and thoughts. And the set of thoughts and feelings you have at any given moment affect how you perceive the world around you.
(Examples: If a staunch Democrat has a negative view of Republicans, the likelihood is increased that he or she will perceive someone new with a negative bias if it is quickly revealed that the new person is a Republican. If someone is really, really angry about how a former carrier treated him, bad news about that carrier will be more easily seen and received than good news. If a driver at a fuel island walks around the front of the fleet owner truck he is driving, smashes his head into the mirror mounted on the fender so hard that he falls to the ground and is then laughed at and ridiculed by the nearby drivers who see it, that single incident may lead the driver to vow to never have such mirrors on any truck he will own in the future and may even lead the driver to reject a great opportunity with a great carrier because that carrier requires such mirrors.)
Knowing that our perceptions of reality are influenced by present circumstances, emotional events, and by some memories being more vivid than others because they were formed when strong emotions were also present, Diane and I try to be mindful of and objective about our perception of reality when we are making big and little business decisions.
To that end, maintaining a spreadsheet is very helpful. I believe that if you cannot cite, over multiple and selected time frames (days, weeks, months, years), your cost per mile, cost per day, revenue per mile, and revenue per day, your perception of your business reality will be determined more by inaccurate memories and emotions than anything else.
Does a great month outweigh a terrible week? Of course it does. But what about the other months and weeks? They all count. What about the months and weeks that do not easily come to mind? If you are not remembering them too, your perception of reality will be inaccurate.
Some people run their expedite businesses by the seat of their pants. Others run them with their hearts. Being human, Diane and I do both. But we also try to maintain an accurate perception of reality by maintaining a spreadsheet and a statement of net worth. More than we want to know how we are feeling about the business, we want to know how we are doing financially, and we find that out by keeping score.
That prompted a response from me that, on second thought, made more sense as a new thread on the perception of reality topic. Here it is:
Very true, Blizzard. Very true.
That then brings us to the decisions we make about how we choose to perceive reality. Different loads, different weeks and different months tend to be remembered differently and the differences can skew our beliefs and perceptions.
For example, Diane and I had a fantastic month in June. Number-wise, it was the second-best month we have had in our year with Landstar and one of the best months we have had in nine years of expediting. Included in that 17,000-mile month was a cross-country run that paid $2.95 per mile, all miles. Another long run paid us $1.95 per mile, including that rate on over 1,000 miles of deadhead so we could get back to civilization after delivering in remote Canada. One run paid over $13,000 to the truck! In the entire month we ran nothing for less than $1.75 a mile, all miles, and only once did we run at that "low" rate. We were feeling the glow, that's for sure.
But feeling the glow (or feeling the pain) is where trouble can set in if you let your feelings influence your perception of reality. When we were feeling the glow, it became very easy to forget the pain we felt a few weeks ago when we sat in Milwaukee one day and then Chicago for the rest of the week and could not buy a load out.
Granted, we then had a directional need to get east or south to make a pick up that was scheduled for the next week (and loads were offered that would have taken us north and west), but it did not seem like too much to ask to get east or south out of Chicago (Chicago!).
It was very painful and disappointing to sit in that area for a week. At that point, we were seriously thinking, not about changing carriers, but about opening our minds to begin researching that possibility. Without question, that was the worst and most painful week we have had since signing on with Landstar, and that pain affected our thoughts and our perception of reality in a negative way, just as the June joy affected our perception in a positive way.
Negative feelings tend to prompt negative thoughts that support them. Negative thoughts tend to prompt negative feelings that support them. So too with positive feelings and thoughts. And the set of thoughts and feelings you have at any given moment affect how you perceive the world around you.
(Examples: If a staunch Democrat has a negative view of Republicans, the likelihood is increased that he or she will perceive someone new with a negative bias if it is quickly revealed that the new person is a Republican. If someone is really, really angry about how a former carrier treated him, bad news about that carrier will be more easily seen and received than good news. If a driver at a fuel island walks around the front of the fleet owner truck he is driving, smashes his head into the mirror mounted on the fender so hard that he falls to the ground and is then laughed at and ridiculed by the nearby drivers who see it, that single incident may lead the driver to vow to never have such mirrors on any truck he will own in the future and may even lead the driver to reject a great opportunity with a great carrier because that carrier requires such mirrors.)
Knowing that our perceptions of reality are influenced by present circumstances, emotional events, and by some memories being more vivid than others because they were formed when strong emotions were also present, Diane and I try to be mindful of and objective about our perception of reality when we are making big and little business decisions.
To that end, maintaining a spreadsheet is very helpful. I believe that if you cannot cite, over multiple and selected time frames (days, weeks, months, years), your cost per mile, cost per day, revenue per mile, and revenue per day, your perception of your business reality will be determined more by inaccurate memories and emotions than anything else.
Does a great month outweigh a terrible week? Of course it does. But what about the other months and weeks? They all count. What about the months and weeks that do not easily come to mind? If you are not remembering them too, your perception of reality will be inaccurate.
Some people run their expedite businesses by the seat of their pants. Others run them with their hearts. Being human, Diane and I do both. But we also try to maintain an accurate perception of reality by maintaining a spreadsheet and a statement of net worth. More than we want to know how we are feeling about the business, we want to know how we are doing financially, and we find that out by keeping score.
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