What? You say you’d never hurt an animal? Well, maybe that’s true, but then tell me about how you treat your own physical body, the largest and longest-living pet you’ll ever have. Would you ever neglect your pet the way you neglect your body?
Every person is different, and every body is different. Many of us are animal lovers, whether as pets or in nature.
Take this 10-question quiz to see whether you are really the animal lover you think you are (keep track of your “yes” answers):
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Do get less sleep than you need because you “have too much to do?”
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Do you often feed yourself highly processed foods with little or no nutritional value?
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Do you hunch over a computer or device for hours, ignoring the discomfort in your legs, back, or other parts of your body?
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Do you put off going to the bathroom until you’re desperate?
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Do you make time for regular movement and stretching?
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Do you make time for play and fun?
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Do you take yourself to the “people vet” when you have a persistent problem?
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Do you routinely praise yourself for almost everything you do? Tell yourself you’re a really good boy/girl/person?
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Do you give yourself less food than you seem to need because it’s more important how you look than how you feel?
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Do you force yourself to exercise strenuously for hours because you want to change your body’s natural shape?
If you answered yes to even one of these, perhaps you are not consistently behaving like the animal lover you may claim to be. If you answered yes to more than 3, you may take this quiz to see if you may be a workaholic.
Regardless, I hope this quiz made you think about whether your values are coherent and consistent. Author and coach Maria Nemeth once told me, “True integrity means honoring your own standards across all areas of your life, not just some.”
If this quiz made you think differently about how you might want to treat your body, please let me know what you think and pass this quiz on to others.
What one action are you inspired to take to be a more loving pet owner of your own body today?
