走在喧嚣的街道上，站在拥挤的地铁里，坐在高压的办公室里，似乎总有一腔怨气挥之不去，从外部到内在同时积压着我们并不算坚韧的心灵，生活变得面目可憎。然而，环境诚然难以改变，你却有另外一种姿态可以选择……
Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you’re the Terminator, for an instant, you’re probably set back on your heels. However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly she/he can get back her/his focus on what’s important.
Five years ago I learned this lesson. I learned it in the back of a taxicab inIndianapolis. Here’s what happened:
I hopped in a taxi and we took off for Indianapolis Airport. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car’s back end by just inches!
The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And, I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck.”
“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 if you let them, they’ll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You’ll be happy you did.”
So this was it: The “Law of the Garbage Truck.” I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: at work, at home, on the streets?
It was that day I said, “I’m not going to do it anymore.”
I began to see garbage trucks. Like in the movie The Sixth Sense, the little boy said, “I see Dead People.” Well, now “I see Garbage Trucks.” I see the load they’re carrying. I see them coming to drop it off. And like my taxi driver, I don’t make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.
你是否曾让一个差劲的司机、粗鲁的侍者、尖刻的老板或者愚钝的下属破坏了一天的心情?除非你是“终结者”，否则有那么一刻，你很可能会大为光火。然而，成功人士的标志就是她/他如何能迅速地将注意力转移到重要的事情上。
这一课我是在五年前学到的。当时，我正坐在印第安纳波利斯的一辆的士的后座上，下面就是事情的经过：
我跳进一辆的士，赶往印第安纳波利斯机场。我们正在路上正常行驶，突然，一辆黑色的车从停车位插到我们前面。我那辆车的司机猛踩刹车，车打滑了，最后差几英寸就会撞上前车的车尾!
前车的司机，就是那个差点酿成一桩大交通事故的家伙，居然猛回头冲我们破口大骂。我这辆车的司机却只是微笑着冲那个家伙挥挥手。我是说，他的态度很友好。
于是我问道，“您为什么要这样?那个家伙差点弄坏您的车，把咱俩都送到医院!”下面是我那位司机的回答，现在我把它称之为“垃圾车法则”。
“许多人都像垃圾车一样。他们四处跑，装满了垃圾，装满了沮丧、怒气和失望。当他们的垃圾堆积起来时，就需要一个地方倾倒。如果你允许，他们会把垃圾倒在你身上。当有人想这么做的时候，不要把它视作个人恩怨。你只需微笑，挥挥手，祝他们好运，然后继续前行。你会为自己这样做感到高兴的。”
这就是我所谓的“垃圾车法则”。我开始回想，有多少次我让垃圾车从我身上碾过? 在办公室，在家里，在大街上，有多少次我曾把他们丢下的垃圾又扔到其他人身上?
在那一天，我告诉自己，“我再也不那么做了”。
我开始看见垃圾车了。就像电影《第六感》中那个小男孩所说的“我看见死人了”。现在，“我看见垃圾车了”。我看到他们装着垃圾，我看到他们把垃圾卸下。就像我那位司机一样，我并不把它视为个人恩怨;我只是微笑，挥手，祝他们好运，然后继续前行。
下一篇： 脑筋急转弯四则