For years I have seen and heard of people using their FitBit or similar device to track their steps. The idea is genius, keeping something as important as our health in front of us at all times. However, there are a lot of things that are really cool ideas, but fail to be effective everyday reality.
I wasn’t sure if the smart pedometer device was a fad that would be here today and gone tomorrow or if it was truly an effective tool. Maybe I just never heard or saw enough stories of people who lost weight and got healthy while using one. However, my employer was running a promotion to participate in a challenge with other employees.
Those who participate get a significant discount on a FitBit. The goal is for everyone to get at least 10,000 steps a day. The competition starts next week and I’ve had my FitBit for a week in anticipation for the challenge to begin. In the last 7 days I’ve found myself coming home from work with 8,000 steps and pushing myself to take a walk around the block to to 10,000.
The only way I would have been able to do this is by knowing where I was at with my total steps. This little wristband had kept what was important in front of me and allowed me to push myself further than I had in the past. Like anything else of value, it’s imperative to keep it in front of us.
I am hoping to continue to use this little device to keep myself more active than I have been. It also moves me to think about other values. What else is important enough to keep track of that we set aside and take for granted? We set goals to start each year that are important to us. Instead of keeping them at the forefront of our attention we often set them aside and forget about them.
If we value something enough we should measure it, track it, and continually keep it in front of us. What gets measured gets managed, and what gets managed gets done. What are you dragging your feet on? What are you setting aside that needs to get picked up?