Care For Yourself as You Care For Your Stuff

Today’s post is going to focus on a phenomenon in human behavior which has been striking me as strange for a long time now. It is the different ways in which people take care of their body and their stuff. It has a dramatic effect on how people gain weight and seem unable to lose it.

A lot of people tend to take better care of their stuff (or at least some of it) than they care for their body. I’m talking about washing and polishing their car frequently, keeping their collections in perfect order, tidying up their books and making sure they sit on the shelf in a specific way, making sure their computer is clean and is running with the finest software they can find.

At the same time, these people, so diligent when taking care of their stuff, can be quite remiss when it comes to their body. They may make excuses why they can’t go to the gym, eat food which they know is bad for them, not sleep enough because they’re addicted to late night TV, etc. They are simply not as dedicated to their body as they are to some of their possessions.

Is It About the Money?

I don’t know what is the cause of such behavior. I suspect it may have something to do with money and the fact that stuff costs money while our body was given to us for free. We have a greater respect for the things we buy because we actually need to give up something to acquire them. Our body has been with us always and it is an apparent gift by our parents, or God, or nature (each person has his or her own way of thinking about this).

This mindset is dangerous as it leads us to disregard the fact that our body is our most prized possession, the one thing in life which can never be replaced, traded in, and that if it breaks down in a certain way, it can never be fixed.

This also has financial consequences: if we get overweight or sick, we may have to pay bigger medical bills, our work may suffer, and we may find ourselves paying fitness trainers or dieticians in the future when we could have kept ourselves in shape at no cost and little effort. It is always harder to correct things than it is to maintain them in working order.

You need to start thinking about your body as something which does indeed cost you money. If you don’t take care of it, it can be very expensive to fix.

Your Body Is Your More Precious Possession

It’s strange to think about our body as a possession. It is… us. We can’t own ourselves, can we?

Let’s not get too philosophical. This is just a way to think about your body, a way in which you can change how you view your responsibility for your physical condition. Just as you don’t allow your stuff to fall apart or break, you can’t allow your body to deteriorate. Just as you maintain your car, so you must maintain the condition of your body. Just as you clean your home to be able to display it to your guests, so must you keep your body in fine shape to display it and yourself to the world.

You are given one body to enjoy during your lifetime. You have a responsibility to keep it, to treasure it, and to not let it fall into disrepair.

What I want you to do now is to think about the possession you love most, that thing (or things) which you consider most valuable. I want you to start thinking in the same way about your body. When you do, you will find it easy to workout regularly, eat healthy food, and lead a healthy lifestyle.

It’s time to treat your body right, as your top priority. This is a simple change to make but one with dramatic consequences. Make the change now!