For all of time, humans had to do hard things to survive.
We were constantly exposed to the elements. It was often too cold, too hot, too windy, or too rainy out. The only escape from the weather required hard physical work, such as constructing a shelter or escaping into a cave.
We faced hunger often. Early humans didn’t have an abundance of food, and the food we did have was bland, boring, and light on calories. Finding this food required walking miles to find it or going on epic and challenging hunts.
Survival required physical effort. Lots of it. Our ancestors were about 14 times more active than we are today and were constantly walking, carrying, lifting, and more.
When we weren’t active, we experienced long stretches of unstimulated downtime. We had to get creative and find something productive to do with our boredom.
These hardships were great teachers—they made us physically harder, mentally tougher, and spiritually sounder.
But we’ve now engineered our world for comfort and ease. We don’t have to do the hard things that made us human. And we’re paying the price with our physical and mental health.
Want to improve your life? Do hard things. It worked for your ancestors, and it still works today.
