For years, decades, centuries even, the way we led our lifestyles meant many aspects of our health were taken care of automatically: we didn't have to think about it - and most people were probably totally unaware of the role they played.
Many people:
Had physically arduous jobs
Spent a good part of our day outside
Food was:
Fresh and local
Seasonal
It was actual, real food!
Drinking water:
Didn't have fluoride added to it
Didn't contain remnant of all sorts of hormones and chemicals
> We lived in communities where we helped and supported one another
> We slept when it was dark and our routines were governed by the sunlight
> Managing screen time wasn't a problem
I'm sure you can think of many other changes that have taken place and of course there were aspects that were not so good for health!
If you look at various cultures around the world many still have health “built in”, yet in so-called “developed”, “Western” cultures, it's been pushed out.
This is why there is such a need to focus on our health and take more care of it.
As a result we've had to create new industries now worth billions: gyms, diets, supplements, “wellness” etc
(Which ironically, I'm part of!)
If you look around - and maybe outside of your immediate circle - it's got so bad that you're considered weird to be healthy. You're the exception.
People think it's being anal and taking it too seriously - you're a “health w@nker” - because you don't eat at McDonalds and prefer to take your own lunch.
“Normal” is now so unhealthy: hardly moving and eating mainly “food” that comes out of packets that our grandparents wouldn't even recognise, spending most of our waking hours staring at screens.
Let's not be swayed and let's be the exceptions.
The fact is we have to focus and work pretty hard just to bring ourselves back to a baseline level of health
I say, let's take it a step further than that - make it a competitive advantage.
Because as people's health is declining, so is their performance. So is their energy, their vigour, their productivity, their creativity, their confidence, their motivation, their resilience…I could go on.
Let's do the opposite and stand out from the crowd.
Over the next decade and beyond, true health is going to become a huge differentiating factor.
Do you agree?
