Why We Stopped Moving: The Tech Trap and The Gods We Shouldn’t Mess With

Once upon a time, humans moved. A lot. Our ancestors roamed the wilderness, hunting, gathering, building shelters, and running from predators. Today? We’re essentially indoor cats. We’ve traded in our spears for smartphones and our survival instincts for Netflix recommendations. Movement is no longer necessary for survival—and that’s a problem.

If the gods had wanted to curse modern humans, they wouldn’t have given us the Sisyphus treatment—pushing a boulder up a hill endlessly. They would’ve plopped us in front of a computer, cursed to sit for eternity, moving nothing but our fingers as we doom-scroll through social media. Zeus would be pleased with how well we’ve paralyzed ourselves.

How Technology Turned Us Into Sitters

It’s no secret that technology has made our lives easier. We no longer have to physically chase down our dinner—it’s delivered to our doorstep with a tap on an app. We’ve swapped out walking for driving, standing for sitting, and playing outside for gaming inside. And while technology has brought massive improvements, it’s also silently drained the movement from our daily lives.

Think of it this way: even basic housework used to require physical exertion. Washing clothes? You had to haul water and scrub by hand. Cooking? That meant chopping wood and cooking over an open flame. Now, with the magic of machines, these once-exhausting tasks are done with the push of a button. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not about to suggest we all revert to the days of scrubbing clothes on a washboard, but we’ve got to admit that our ancestors were getting one hell of a workout just by existing.

It’s not just at home either. Work, once physically demanding for most, has shifted to being an office-chair marathon. Most jobs today involve sitting at a desk for 8+ hours, staring at screens. And while we can curse technology for keeping us stuck in sedentary jobs, we’ve also embraced it in our downtime. Watching Netflix for hours, ordering food via apps, and avoiding all forms of movement that don’t involve reaching for the TV remote. Movement? Optional. Sitting? Required.

Blame It On NEAT (No, It’s Not a Cleaning Product)

The real game-changer here isn’t just the gym (shocker). It’s NEAT—Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis—which is just a fancy way of saying "all the movement you do that isn’t exercise." Think walking to your car, taking the stairs, or fidgeting in your chair. NEAT is the stuff that keeps your body burning energy throughout the day. And surprise, surprise—technology has made us suck at NEAT.

I had this client, let’s call him “Joe.” Joe used to walk 5,000 steps a day just getting to and from work. Then, he moved closer to the office and started driving instead. Within a month, Joe had gained weight. Why? He wasn’t hitting the gym any less, but he’d unknowingly slashed his NEAT by half. That’s the sneaky part—NEAT is invisible until it’s gone. The small daily movements that used to keep us active are the very ones that have been quietly erased by technology. And the worst part? We don’t even realize it.

Zeus, Sisyphus, and the Modern Human Condition

Let’s dive into the Greek mythology a bit—because it turns out, those ancient stories still hold up. Remember Sisyphus, the guy cursed by Zeus to push a boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, forever doomed to repeat this hellish task? While that might sound like a nightmare, at least Sisyphus was moving. His suffering wasn’t from a lack of motion—it was from the futility of his labor. But what if Zeus had cursed him with something even worse? What if he forced Sisyphus to sit still for eternity, staring at a screen? That’s what we’re doing to ourselves.

Humans are designed to move. Movement is essential not just for physical health, but for mental health too. Nietzsche nailed it when he said, “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” But here we are, stagnant, sitting at our desks, glued to screens, and wondering why we’re anxious, tired, and miserable​.

The Sedentary Curse: How It’s Killing Us

What if I told you that sitting is literally killing you? I know, it sounds dramatic, but sedentary living has become one of the leading contributors to chronic diseases. Heart disease, diabetes, obesity—the list goes on. All of these modern health crises have one thing in common: they’re linked to the fact that we just don’t move anymore.

Our bodies are like cars. They’re meant to be driven, used, moved. When you park a car for too long, it starts to rust, the tires deflate, the battery dies. That’s exactly what happens to our bodies when we sit all day. Use it or lose it, as they say.

There’s a reason why every single health recommendation boils down to this: move more. You don’t need a six-pack or marathon runner’s endurance, but you do need to be moving. Technology may be our savior, but it’s also our undoing.

Why You Should Never F*ck With Zeus—Or Your Body

So, here we are. Zeus might not be throwing lightning bolts at us, but we’re definitely f*cking with him every time we neglect our need for movement. And just like the gods of old, our bodies have a way of punishing us when we fall out of balance. Ignore your body’s need for motion, and it’ll repay you with stiffness, pain, and disease.

But there’s hope. You don’t need to fight Zeus head-on; you just need to outsmart him. The solution isn’t to reject technology, but to use it wisely. Track your steps. Set reminders to stand up and stretch. Walk around while you’re on a conference call. Move more, even if it feels like small, insignificant steps.

Sisyphus may have been doomed to push that boulder forever, but you don’t have to be. You can start reclaiming your health one movement at a time—whether it’s a walk around the block or a few minutes of stretching between emails.

Take the First Step (Literally)

So, what’s the solution? It’s simple: start moving. Whether it’s walking 10,000 steps a day, parking farther from the store, or just getting up from your desk every hour to stretch. Movement is the antidote to the sedentary curse we’ve fallen under. You don’t need a gym membership or a fancy fitness plan—you just need to move.

Zeus might have cursed Sisyphus, but the real curse we face is one of our own making. We’ve trapped ourselves in a world of convenience, and it’s slowly killing us. The good news? You hold the power to break free. So get up, get moving, and don’t let Zeus win.