If you’re like me – or any of the 6 million worldwide – you got an Apple Watch for Christmas. My Apple watch tracks my fitness and gives me a visual reward when I “close all my rings,” i.e. meet my movement, stand and (who knows what other??) goals.
These goals were preset on the watch when I got it, and to this day (it’s almost June) I don’t know what the goals are, and how often I meet them or don’t. What I know is, that I get a little boost when my watch congratulates and rewards me for meeting them.
Lately, I’ve been moving and organizing, lugging and lifting. My Watch is Very Proud of Me.
It sings and rings and all but pats me on the back. (It can’t actually do that without my participation.) And I feel proud of meeting these undefined goals and making my watch proud.
In fact, I don’t like it when my watch misses me doing something it would approve of. For instance, my husband and I had spontaneous sex the other day, and the afterglow was sullied by the realization that my watch wasn’t present for that activity. How would it ever know? It can apparently swim with me, but I have yet to try the “pool mode.” I want it to be there for all the big events of my day, but I don’t want to risk having it in the water with me. Ahhh, to cherish something is always a risk. When we love, we risk losing.
What does this all add up to? We all like a witness, even a witless witness, like my “smart” watch. We like someone taking note of our progress, remembering our goals, even when we might lose sight of them. We want the nudge, the nag, the reminders, along with the rewards, the joy and the congrats.
This is one of the reasons people like a coach. I realize I’m doing better because I have a little watch on my arm, that gets excited when I achieve something. (I wonder if it has a setting for “pages written.”) Of course, it is a ham-handed coach at best. It cannot help me shift my perspective and engage in its goal. It cannot help me achieve the goals in any way other than bearing witness, keeping track, giving me positive feedback.
Do you have someone in your life who is engaged in your goals and performance? An accountability buddy, an accountability practice? A coach? I would like to be that support for you. If you have writing or marketing goals that I can help you with, let me know.