Your Body Isn’t Yours

How would you treat a friend’s car if they let you borrow it? 

How would you want your car to be treated if you lent it to someone?

Guess what? Your Body Isn’t Yours. How are you treating it?

You’re borrowing it for your little trip around the sun, for however long that may be. 

You didn’ make it or buy it. You received it as a gift. When you die, your body is going to be food for worms or nutrients that go back into the planet. You only get to drive it around for as long as you’re on this spinning orb.

How nature works

Nature doesn’t do anything for itself. A stream doesn’t use its own water. A tree doesn’t eat its own fruit. The sun doesn’t enjoy its own rays. Nature is a giver. It is an interdependent ecosystem.

This video of the wolves in Yellowstone is a great example of interdependence.

We humans are the same. We never know the impact that we have on others. What impact are us humans having on this planet? What impact are we having on our fellow earthly travelers?

Givers versus takers

Are you a giver or a taker? There is no black and white. We are all givers and takers, but if you were to look at your life and put giving on one side of the scale and taking on the other side of the scale, how would they weigh out?

What is your contribution to this planet? 

When I was younger, I prided myself for my independence. I felt like I could do it all on my own. As I grew up, I realized how foolish that point of view was. I realized that I am extremely interdependent, especially on the legacy of those that have gone before me. 

• I didn’t create this computer I’m typing on. I didn’t create the electricity that is running it. I didn’t build this office that I’m working in.
• I didn’t make the car I drive or the gas that powers it
• I am dependent on the sun for the food I eat.
• I’m dependent on the trees and vegetation for the oxygen I breathe, and they are dependent on the carbon dioxide that I exhale
• … and millions of other examples…

After looking at where I’m dependent on the efforts and fruits of others and this planet, I felt selfish. What is my contribution compared to all I receive? Sure, I pay for things, but what am I really giving back?

Seeing our bodies as tools

Since this body is only my vehicle while I’m on this planet, who am I? I’m the driver. I’m the one that observes my thoughts, emotions, and I’m the one that gets to drive this 1966 Randall H. Scott around for a while.

Too many of us confuse who we really are with our thoughts, emotions, and bodies. When we learn to create separation, through mindfulness and meditation, we really do become the drivers, and not just an autopilot. This is where our power lies. 

If this body is just a tool, and I want to make a bigger contribution to this planet, I’ve got to first make sure that this body is in top performing condition. This is why I have a daily ritual to strengthen body, mind, and spirit (the Driver). Here’s what mine looks like:

• Exercise/nutrition (for the vehicle)
• Prayer/meditation/mindfulness (for the Driver)
• Journaling (for me, this is like a diagnostic program, to make sure everything is running together in optimal condition)
• Gratitude list (this is like cleaning the windshield for better perspective)
• Read at least 10 pages per day (for the mind)
• Act of service (to make sure I’m tipping the giving side of the scale)

I do what I can to make sure that my tools are in good shape so that I can contribute in the most efficient and effective ways possible.

My contribution

For years, I was a marketing & sales executive in the technology industry. I love marketing because it’s really about teaching and educating, but pays better than a teacher (unfortunately, due to our system). Sure, I helped people understand the benefits of products and services, which made their lives better. I also helped companies grow exponentially so they could hire and pay employees so that they could put a roof over their head and food on their tables, but today that feels less impactful than my current path.

I’m a voracious learner. For 18 years, outside of my day job, I studied my passions; science, philosophy, and spirituality. Things like quantum physics, neuroscience, natural law, and all of the belief systems that I could find. I went back as far as the Sumerian texts, to the most recent book I could find.

I’m a life-hacker so I experimented on myself with whatever I could apply in my life. Some stuff served, some didn’t. I kept the stuff that served and threw out what didn’t.

Three years ago, I realized that what I had learned was too good to keep to myself. It would be selfish. So I left my day job and started writing a book, coaching executives, and speaking wherever I could. I wanted to test this to see if it was only me, or if could help others. It wasn’t just me. 

So now I’m on my journey of greater contribution. 

Wrapping up

We’re all going to die. We’re not taking these bodies with us. 

Are we taking care of these bodies?

What are we doing with them to make our fingerprint and legacy on others and on this planet? What is your contribution?

Nobody else is going to drive your body. You’re the driver. You get to choose the destination. Be unique. Be you. Fulfill your dreams.

An Invitation

If you’d like to learn more about achieving higher performance and delivering better results with more peace, power & purpose, you can download my FREE ebook “Zenpowerment Power Principles for Executives and Entrepreneurs”.