It Could Always Be Worse
The importance of practicing gratitude
I Hate Nashville
I moved to Nashville, Tennessee for a job in March 2023, and I’ve been trying to escape ever since.
I absolutely hate it here. In fact, I abhor it so much that I drive 200 miles back home to Knoxville, Tennessee on Thursday afternoons and head back at 3 AM every Monday.
Life’s been like this since April and, not to sound like a privileged punk who’s never dealt with genuine adversity, it's taken a toll on me. Consequently, I’ve been looking for engineering jobs in my hometown since June, and finally received a phone call to interview for a position a few weeks ago.
The Job Interview
On the day of the interview, I drove my car to the parking lot of a restaurant I order lunch from every day, put my key in the ignition and turned it to the “On” setting so cold air would come out of the vents, set my Microsoft Team's background to the Mojave Desert, buckled my seatbelt in case things got out of hand, and joined the meeting.
Things were going incredibly well: I solved every technical problem with ease, received kudos for my answers to the behavioral questions, and, above all, the two men conducting the interview liked me. At this point, I knew that there was no way I wasn’t going to get the job unless I managed to fumble harder than the Atlanta Falcons when they played the New England Patriots for the Super Bowl Championship in 2017.
Unfortunately, something much worse happened. I was informed that the job could entail traveling away from Knoxville for up to 9 months at a time due to the nature of the work.
Fantastic.
At that point I threw in the towel because having to be away from home contradicts my reasons for wanting to move back home; I thanked both men for their time, and went to retrieve my order from the restaurant.
The Longest Afternoon Ever
I returned to my car only to find that it wouldn’t start. I’m not mechanically inclined whatsoever, but I could tell that the battery had been drained because of the noises it was making. I then realized my rookie mistake: I left the key in the ignition during the interview.
I called my friend Noa, yes the one who choked me out in front of my cute neighbor, and he told me to get a jump from someone, drive to an auto store, and have them put in a new battery for me.
Okay, easy enough.
He then instructed me to pop my car's hood and evaluate the battery for any other potential issues, and, sure enough, the positive terminal was covered in a greenish orange corrosive acid.
I called my boss and he arrived about 10 minutes later to jump my car. I then drove to the closest Autozone to have my battery replaced, only for the technician to say that he didn’t feel comfortable changing it because he suspected that the positive terminal would shatter if he did, which would leave me with problems substantially worse than a dead battery. Annoying, but no big deal.
I then tested my luck at an O’Reilly Auto Parts that was 4 miles away, and the technician I encountered thankfully assured me he could do the job. Unfortunately, his confidence was less useful than a blind person giving directions, because he ended up not having the proper tools to complete the job without potentially breaking my battery cable.
The technician advised me to visit a Firestone Complete Auto Care one mile away because they would be equipped with the professional tools necessary to safely change the battery. For the unaware, Firestone is basically a chain vehicle servicing company that has thousands of locations throughout the United States.
So, as you might expect, their prerogative is to make as much money as possible and rip people off in the process. And as I expected, they said it would cost $175 to change the battery.
Again, I’m mechanically challenged but knew that I was being taken advantage of: Two stores would change my battery for free but those guys wanted $175?
Yeah, okay.
I then called a mom and pop shop, but they were less useful than a drunk person giving advice because they didn’t have three minutes to spare and knew of no shops in the area that were capable of helping me out.
Sure.
At this point I was extremely stressed and wanted the day to be over. I traveled to three locations and not a single person could change my battery, 4 hours of work was going to have to be made up, the job interview was a bust, and my kale salad was spoiling. This, coupled with everything I’ve been dealing with since April, put my cortisol levels into overdrive.
In spite of those feelings, I accepted that no-one was coming to save me and drove back to O’Reilly to install the battery myself. Upon my return, an employee who couldn’t have been a day over 16 guaranteed that he could change the battery, and after working on it for half an hour he luckily succeeded.
The day was finally over.
The Importance of Practicing Gratitude
As the 16 year old was installing my battery, I couldn’t help but think about how much worse the situation could’ve been.
Firstly, I considered how fortunate I am to have a boss who would stop what he was doing to help me out – I know a considerable number of people whose bosses would never dare do such a thing. If it wasn’t for him, I would have lost hundreds of dollars towing my car to multiple locations.
Secondly, I was thankful to have a friend that would answer a call during the middle of a workday. He easily could've done what most “friends” do and sent me to voicemail. If it wasn’t for his step by step guidance, the entire process would’ve been significantly more stressful and difficult.
Thirdly, I was thankful to have money. I’m a geotechnical engineer, so while I’m by no means rich, I'm also not broke. That said, there was a time when my bank account was in the negative and I had to ask my younger sister for money so I could purchase food and gas. I understood that if this happened not so long ago, I would’ve been forced to abandon my car in the restaurant’s parking lot and somehow solve all of the problems associated with owning a dysfunctional vehicle. Moreover, I thought about the millions of people who have been in my situation without enough money saved who wished they could’ve been in my shoes.
Fourthly, I was thankful to encounter such kind technicians at O’Reilly Auto Parts. They very easily could’ve told me to take my car elsewhere due to the corrosion on the terminal, but both men helped me to the best of their ability despite having nothing to gain.
Lastly, I was thankful for my health. I can’t imagine how much more difficult dealing with that amount of stress would be if I was overweight, disabled, or handicapped.
It Could Always Be Worse
Whenever you’re in the midst of a situation that you wish was over, practice gratitude and acknowledge that it could always be worse. Keep in mind that there’s 8 billion people on the planet, and it’s likely that there are others dealing with the same problem as you who’d kill for your conditions.
If you have enough money to purchase a new car battery after yours dies, practice gratitude. Imagine how much more stress you’d feel having to worry about fixing your car, figuring out how your kids are going to get to school, and finding a way to work. That would suck, right?
If your tires blow out on the interstate and you’re forced to call for assistance, be thankful that it’s charged, functional, and equipped with mobile data. Just imagine how much more difficult dealing with a situation like that would be without a cellphone.
No matter how stressful the situation you’re in is, and no matter how impossible it seems to overcome, always remember that nothing you’re dealing with is really that big of a deal, and that millions of people before you have survived situations orders of magnitude worse.
If our ancestors survived slavery, genocide, starvation, and plagues, there’s really no situation we’re incapable of handling.
Your first mistake was kale salad
Loved your silver lining gratitude message. It is always good to hear when others look at bad situations from a different perspective. Thank you for a wonderfully encouraging message.