If you think you’ve got a bad or unhealthy lifestyle, let me tell you that you’re not alone.
Not just right here in this moment, but winding the clocks back.
The other day I came across an 18th century article written by a medical doctor called Abraham Back. He was friends with the world famous Swedish Botanist; Carl Linnaeus, the guy who systematised the whole plant ecosystem. I’m sure you’ve read about him in school.
Anyway…
Abraham Back lived between 1713 and 1795. Two years before his death, he made a world famous speech about the human lifestyle and the problems they faced. Believe it or not, it’s exactly the same today.
Humans are still trying to fix lifestyle problems by searching for quick fixes.
In Dr Abraham’s famous speech, he told the world that there’s no such thing as a quick fix – There is only long term solutions.
Back then, the major problem was that people struggled changing their habits. And it’s no different today. Whether you want to reduce your stress, improve your diet or health – changing ingrained habits is challenging.
Societies are great at preventing fires but they can’t prevent health issues.
Back then, there were no doctors with state of the art treatment to help people live longer. You might not be aware, but I come from Sweden. It’s a huge place! Back when Dr Abraham was alive, there was only a handful (9 in fact) “Family Practitioners” spread across the entire country. And that’s why people never got the healthcare they needed. It wasn’t readily available like it is today.
Dr Abraham was an upper class man who was actually the King’s medical doctor at the time. Having said that, he also had a huge heart for helping the majority of the population. He saw the huge epidemic of disease that swept across the country and made it his life’s mission to solve this challenge.
Another common problem today that Dr Abraham addressed was heavy drinking.
Back then, there was a massive problem and lots of people ended up losing their lives through excessive drinking. Dr Abraham told people they should be drinking water and it’s exactly the same today.
He even addressed vitamins in his speech…
Dr Abraham said to his people you can prevent disease by eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Each vegetable contained life supporting vitamins essential for optimum human living. It’s surprising how much knowledge that was true back then is still 100% true today.
Physical activity was talked about too and the fact that sitting down makes you lazy whereas outdoor physical activity strengthens your body; something I’m always teaching my clients.
Dr Abraham is like Dr Annika 250 years ago – He is saying the same things.
Creating a stress free lifestyle isn’t a new thing. Taking care of yourself is something people did hundreds of years ago – even with the limited knowledge they had back then.
To summarise:
Here are a few points you should focus on to reduce stress and create the freedom lifestyle you want:
- Focus on physical activity as much as you can through the week to strengthen your body
- Make sure your diet is comprised of ‘real food’.
- No heavy drinking – a drink here or there is fine but remember to drink plenty of fresh water to keep your body hydrated.
Focus on these three steps and you too can start reducing your stress today.
Today I would also add Sleep as a very important factor for a healthy life. Dr Abraham did not mention it in his speech. On the other hand they did not have a 24/7 society back then so maybe sleep was not an issue for them. But it sure is for us.
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To your success and keep smiling,
