I’m a Fitbit wearer.
It’s a wristband that syncs with an application on my phone to count the number of steps I take each day. It’s set with an automatic goal of 10,000 steps.
This is not an advertisement — although if Fitbit wants to endorse this page I’d be open to that — but, I’ve been using it for several months now and it’s taught me a few things. About myself. About life.
Granted, I knew these already. They are not new revelations. But certainly I’ve had some principles that have been reinforced by my use of Fitbit.
Here are 4 things I’ve learned:
I respond better when I have a goal. Goals encourage me. Knowing I need to get at least 10,000 steps per day motivates me. Even if it’s at the end of a long day I will find a way to complete the goal. I WILL GET MY STEPS!
There’s a special joy in completing a goal. When you reach 10,000 steps the Fitbit goes crazy. (Or crazy compared to what it had been doing just sitting on my arm.) That tingle. That buzz. Those lights flashing is a pep in my day. Sometimes I use the elliptical and place the Fitbit bracelet around the bars of the machine. (It’s more accurate that way it seems.) I miss my “buzz” of reaching the goal. Okay so I’m being a bit dramatic, but if you like completing a task this does give you something else to get excited about each day.
Accountability challenges me to do my best. Cheryl has a Fitbit too. We keep track of where each other is in our daily goal. If she doesn’t feel like walking the nights we need steps, I’ll challenge her. If I’m not feeling it, she encourages me.
A little competition never hurts. I have “friends” on Fitbit. To be a friend, they have to have a Fitbit too. Granted, I don’t need another social media outlet to keep up with, but with Fitbit, my friends keep me going. I know they are “watching” — and trying to catch me — so I must stay ahead. I must. 🙂
My experience with Fitbit has been a daily reminder how valuable having goals and objectives, accountability, and even competition can be in my life. Think with me:
How can I apply these same principles to other areas of my life?
Which model of Fitbit are you using?
I believe it's called the Flex
Twitter: kmac4him
says:
That is cool! I like that idea! I think for my spiritual fitness I use the scripture for goals. I need to change certain things in my life, so I keep a scripture goal, running it over and over in my mind, asking God to change the bad habit into a good habit, testing its strength by stepping out purposefully in the wisdom of it and eventually responding with it and meeting my goal. So I have a goal set by the scripture, a goal to specifically grow! My big accountability partner is God's Holy Spirit of course, my little one is my small group, we have set some goals for good scriptural habits. We check on each other weekly.
I love this. Thank you.Â
There was an interesting piece by David Sedaris in last week's New Yorker about FitBit. It seemed like an addiction of sorts. He's taken on activities (e.g., collecting trash) to increase his steps:
"Now I’m up to sixty thousand, which is twenty-five and a half miles. Walking that distance at the age of fifty-seven, with completely flat feet while lugging a heavy bag of garbage, takes close to nine hours—a big block of time, but hardly wasted. I listen to audiobooks, and podcasts. I talk to people. I learn things. . ."
Wow! That's a little more intense than me!