“When are you going to stop treating your body like a rental car?”

When my coach said that to me a few years ago, it stopped me dead in my tracks. 

“What do you mean, treat my body like a rental car?”

“You only have one body, Brad. You can’t just turn it in at the end of the week and get a new one!”

At that point in my life, I hadn’t given my “body” too much thought. I tried to eat right, maybe get a little exercise. If I got injured, it healed. If I got sick, I got better—no big deal.

What I valued for myself wasn’t my health; it was my output. What did I produce? How much do I get done? That’s what’s important. 

She pointed out to me that if I was sick, if my body wasn’t well, my output would be zero.

From that point forward, I started paying more attention to my body. 

• I committed to getting 7 – 8 hours of sleep every night.
• I eliminated sugar from my diet and added more vegetables.
• I began a regular exercise program, including personal training sessions. 
• I started taking a few vitamins.

Listening to my body helped me to notice that driving around all the time wasn’t right for my body, so I worked to make my business more virtual. 

My body also helped me notice that being out in nature gave me real peace, so now I schedule a day each month to do nothing but walk in the woods.

Why do I bring this up in the middle of a global pandemic? 

My body’s been talking to me the last few weeks during the quarantine — and it’s not happy. The stress, overworking, lack of exercise, and general emotional load of this crisis is building up in my body. I feel the tight muscles and the pain in my legs in the morning. 

My body is telling me to step away from the computer, to move more, to get outside more. To treat it like it matters; like I intend to keep it long-term!

What’s your body telling you?