Whomever has ever purchased a nice vehicle whether it was new or used knows what it is like to want to take care of it. You keep it clean inside and out, you maintain it with regular oil changes, and probably wash it and wax it regularly. After all, who wouldn’t want to spend a little time taking care of it after all of the money you spent on it. You more than likely worked very hard for that money as well. It all makes perfect sense.
So tell me why we don’t have this same attitude with our bodies? After all, it is our “vehicle” to roam this planet. We may not have spent money on it, however it is priceless isn’t it? Without it, we are not going far. Our bodies cannot be replaced when they get wrecked like a vehicle. Yes we have insurance on both but no replacement guarantees on our bodies. We put premium gasoline in our vehicles to make the engine run better, we use top brand oils to make our engines last longer, yet we smoke cigarettes, do drugs, pour alcohol into our bodies and eat foods certain to cause havoc in the long run. That doesn’t make our body run well or last longer. It makes no sense yet we all do it or have done it at one time or another.
We have all probably had a vehicle break down on us. Anything from a flat tire to a blown engine or maybe an accident where it was totaled out and scrapped. At any rate, we were able to repair or replace it and move on. We depend on our vehicles to get us from point A to point B. For some reason we take our bodies for granted more than we do our cars. Maybe it is because we have never had something fail in our body which made us more aware of how we treat it. Unfortunately for many people, it takes an event like that to finally realize we are abusing or not taking care of our bodies like we should. For some people this moment never comes and before they know it time is up and it’s too late.
So what do we do to take care of ourselves like we should now? By no means is it easy to get started if we haven’t created the habit. First we need to be in the right frame of mind to do something about it and make a change. Every journey starts with a single step including this life long one. Sometimes it is the smallest change in diet or exercise that will spark something in us to continue to make larger changes. It can be a much larger leap like eliminating junk food, deciding to quit smoking or drinking or beginning an exercise program. However we decide to do it doesn’t matter as much as just taking that first step. If we stick with it, the rest takes care of itself.
I see people who are in their golden years and I can almost tell who took care of themselves and who didn’t. It makes me wonder what life will be like for me in 20 years. Do I want to be walking with a cane, over weight, hunched over shuffling around? No way! I want to be on the golf course, out walking or jogging being active enjoying myself and not having to watch other people have the fun because I am physically restricted or exhausted. If we really think about our future selves having such a restricted life it is sobering. We have one body and we need to take care of it and that has to start now. Not tomorrow, not next week, it has to happen today.
So we need to decide, do we want to be a broken down rusted out heap of junk ready for the scrap yard, or do we want to be a high performance sports car always ready for the next adventure. The choice is ours every day. Let’s keep our future self in mind and take care of our “vehicle” for as long as we have the privilege to walk this planet. Love your body like your new car, take care of it, respect it, and give it the attention it deserves. A little effort now can make a big difference in our future..