Checked your car today?

I recently came across an analogy credited to Warren Buffett.

"Let’s say that I offer to buy you the car of your dreams. You can pick out any car that you want, and then when you get out of class this afternoon, that car will be waiting for you at home.

There’s just one catch.. It’s the only car you’re ever going to own in your entire life. Now, knowing that, how are you going to treat that car? You’re probably going to read the owner’s manual four times before you drive it; you’re going to keep it in the garage, protect it at all times, change the oil twice as often as necessary. If there’s the least little bit of rust, you’re going to get that fixed immediately so it doesn’t spread — because you know it has to last you as long as you live.

That’s exactly the position you’re in regarding your mind and body. You have one mind and one body for the rest of your life. If you aren’t taking care of them when you’re young, it’s like leaving that car out in hailstorms and letting rust eat away at it. If you don’t take care of your mind and body now, by the time you’re 40 or 50, you’ll be like a car that can’t go anywhere."

Never take your body for granted. Check, and track, what you eat, how long you sleep, and how you make it healthy.

Don’t do this because you just need data. Don’t do it for the prestige it may bring you when you discuss it over dinner next week. Do it because it matters to you.

Just like anything, your body will fail you with time. Be kind to yourself; don't quicken when it will.