Do you have a car payment?
To this day, I still vividly remember an interaction with a nurse who was in really rough shape a few years back. Diagnosed with the usual preventable health conditions (type 2 diabetes / hypertension), this woman seemed to be ready to invest in her health.
It's not like she wasn't used to seeing people in the same shape, or worse, at her job, right?
Our process at Forward Thinking Fitness is very different from everywhere else you can go. We're never going to take you through a free workout before we review everything there is to know about you. Any place that offers that is truly putting people in danger by not gathering sufficient information beforehand, but I digress.
By meeting each prospective client where they're at, we can effectively get them to where they want to be in a safe and sustainable manner. And if we don't feel confident we can help, we'll refer them to some place that can.
Anyways, this nurse straight up had a terrible work schedule. This is normal (and ironic) for healthcare workers. Her mobility and strength were limited greatly, so she truly needed a lot of one-on-one help if she really wanted to see progress.
Short of doing it on her own at a 24/7 gym (didn't work out for her before), I felt I had the answers to overcome her problems. When I reviewed her customized plan, she blurted, That's more expensive than my car payment. I then asked, Should your car be worth more to you than your life?
Sadly, she told me she gets a new car every three years. I assume she is in the same boat today: neglecting her health and working herself to the bone for one of our local hospital systems. But at least she has a certain status driving around town, right?
Our bodies are eerily similar to the fancy cars so many Americans can't live without. Certainly, your body should get more time on the planet than replaceable material possession, but many do not do not value their health as much as their expensive wheels ...
- A human body only gets through so many miles before health issues begin
- A car only gets through so many miles before it starts to break down
- Proactive with movement/nutrition extends a body's lifespan
- Proactive with oil changes/tire rotations extend a car's lifespan
- Humans see a doctor to help when they're not feeling well
- Cars see a mechanic to fix something that isn't working right
- Bodies sitting on the couch all day without movement causes aches/pains
- Cars sitting outside for long bouts without movement causes it to seize up
- Going all out all the time with workouts isn't sustainable
- Pedal to the metal between stop and go isn't sustainable
All of this to say, you can always buy a new car, but you can never buy a new body. I know for me, at least, I could care less about the car I drive as long as I'm getting from point A to point B.
Maybe that's my fault for not being a car bro. All I know is I could care less about whatever people drive, as long as they're not going 15 MPH under the speed limit in front of me.
Investing in the only body you'll ever have on a consistent basis yields great returns throughout a lifespan. So if you're taking better care of your car than your own body, I'd suggest taking a better look at your priorities :)
