Stop Buying Wearables And Start Living

I’d become caught up in the hype.

During a recent trip to the Apple store in San Diego, I found myself prancing into the showroom like some baby deer who’d just eaten turkish delight.

Among the millions of viewers on YouTube, I'd been attracted by a clever marketing message with an exciting promise:

“This watch will make your life better”

The new Apple sport watch, called ‘’the most personal device yet,” was presented as a mirror of mindfulness that could upshift healthy behaviors and guide productivity into overdrive.

I put the smooth black band on my wrist, touched the little shiny square screen, and scrolled through the windows to then say out loud, “This is it?”

After almost a year of personal research in digital health and split testing more than 30 different apps and devices from over 20 technology companies, I trusted Apple to deliver on its promise of “Think Different.”

Wearing the coveted watch, I experienced one of the most profound anti-climactic moments I’d ever had since watching Dr. Oz push green tea pills as the answer to fat loss.

The display was too small not to squint, functionality was far from easy, and the swarm of application buttons were unfriendly and uninspiring.

In the disappointment, it occurred to me that I was never really moved by what this watch could do.

I was always more interested in how this wearable device could coach and inspire humanity to live a more connected, healthier, and higher quality life.

By the time we get to the right version, I still believe it will.

Why Anyone Would Want A Wearable

A car has a dashboard that helps to get you from point A to point B.

With deep health behavior insights that have never been available before, wearables have the power to be a unique compass of personal activity that yields better wellness for us all.

But without a deeper meaning, emotional context, and clear intention to back up all this collected data, behavior change will remain something that gets done on next Monday, or maybe the next.

“People right now are trying to use their Fitbit and Fuel Band, but until you actually collect, interpret, and explain what that data means, and until you engage the physician population, I don’t think this is going to go where it needs to go.”

Dr. Samir Damani, MD, Founder & CEO, MD Revolution

Intention & Potential

As an industry, technology is plowing ahead at an unstoppable pace.
 
Human evolution is and always has been much much slower.

To contrast, it takes 66 days to make any new eating, exercise, or behavioral habit stick, while it has taken over 250,000 years for humans to have developed into who we are now:

A powerhouse of mental, physical, and spiritually self aware beings capable of creating new life and new ways of thinking.

Stepping into our potential by changing our behavior is supported by wearable devices like the Apple watch, Jawbone, and Fitbit trackers, but they are essentially one of many tools for doing the real work of lifestyle transformation.

These tools are powerful but useless without the right intention behind them.

So if wearables are ultimately just tools, then what exactly are they designed to fix?

The Robotically Lived Life

With technology comes automation, yielding sedentary lifestyles and long term stressors that our genetics have never been built to withstand.

Hence, the global epidemic of obesity, disease, and unrest.

From the influence of media, news, and social conditioning to buy the newest gadgets, have the biggest houses and drive the shiniest new cars, as a species we’ve chosen to ignore our health and well-being in trade for possessions and a false sense of class.

As a society, we wait for crisis to occur before we change how we do things because we're too busy just trying to survive.

 The wearable technology and digital health movements represent a growing consciousness that supports a bridging of the gap between 3 major points:

  • Why people justify doing activities and jobs they hate
  • Why people ignore unhealthy behaviors they use to cover up stress
  • The gift of mindfulness and truth that can be seen in the data of how someone is actually being in their lives

Whether you are a teacher, trainer, mom, dad, woman or man, there is a part of your mind that is connected, evolutionarily and physiologically, to living the best life possible.

The more you know yourself, the more you know what you're worth and what you're willing to do or not do.

Stop Buying Wearables And Start Living

Since 2007, the bell curve of self-tracking and wearable technology has been pushed to amazing levels in functionality and performance.

But when it comes to seamless devices and mobile apps that inspire and empower people to move, eat, and live better, there is still a lot of work to do.

Major news engines are all pushing for everyone to buy more wearables, while the most valuable investment isn't something I put on my wrist, it's how connected I am to my heart's intention.

No tool can ever take the place between what I believe I can accomplish and what actions I take. That's my responsibility.

When I make the decision to live a life of purpose, passion, and the vulnerability to admit that something isn’t working, I create the space for attracting what will.

With the right intention, digital health tools and wearables can and will support real life transformations.

Whatever we want to create, a better body or a life of health and wellness, the perfect tools are out there if we’re willing to do the hard work of figuring out just one question:

What is your intention?

I’ve learned that the tools we use are only as powerful as the thoughts we think and the person we show up as.

When we’re willing to let go of old habits and beliefs, then new possibilities, wellness, and abundance will reign.

 

 

“You can graph human evolution, which is mostly a straight line, but we do get better and change over time, and you can graph technological evolution, which is a line that's going straight up. They are going to intersect each other at some point, and that's happening now.” – Daniel H. Wilson

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About Josh Trent

Josh Trent lives in Austin, Texas with his love Carrie Michelle, son Novah, daughter Nayah + a cat named Cleo. He is the host of the Wellness + Wisdom Podcast and the creator of the BREATHE: Breath + Wellness Program. Josh has spent the past 20+ years as a trainer, researcher + facilitator discovering the physical and emotional intelligence for humans to thrive in our modern world. Helping humans LIBERATE their mental, emotional, physical, spiritual + financial self through podcasts, programs + global community that believe in optimizing our potential to live life well.

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11 Responses

  1. Thank you so much for reading @OmNinja:disqus 🙂 Are you wearing any devices for behavior modification now?

  2. No. Not yet. I have been researching them. I am leaning toward investing in a FitBit Surge. I get questions about wearable devices from clients & friends often. My first response to them is usually why they want one & what they expect to gain from using it. So your article was right on point.

  3. ‘@A. Morrison Checking back. Did you pick up the Fitbit surge yet? I’d love to share your insights. Also, how many years have you been training?

  4. ‘@Josh Trent still haven’t picked one up. Want to be certain. I’m a relatively new trainer. Been training since January. I don’t count the time before my cert when I trained friends.

  5. Thanks for your comments and support A. Morrison! If you are interested, I can ship you a free demo model Fitbit CHARGE HR. PM me [email protected]

  6. no time like the present 🙂 Hope you’re doing great!!

  7. I am wearing my Apple watch while typing this…and it almost hurts (Apple fan) to agree. I now see it as a normal watch and enjoy the looks. Use the foto background option as a visual ‘mindset’ for the day….

    For my running data collection I’m searching for a new device, I miss more detailed heart rate data.

  8. Such a pleasure and I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂 Message me for any questions A. Morrison

  9. Josh, thank you. I have had a look at the watch and it has all a runner could want! Do you use it yourself and with or without the chest band? In Holland the Fenix 4 is not available yet, now comparing his predecessor with this one.

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