Last week while on vacation, my Fitbit band broke. The Fitbit itself was perfectly fine, but the band tore completely from the frame. With little choice, I decided to pack it away and deal with purchasing a new band when I got home.
Here’s how the rest of vacation went:
- I went on to read, talk to my husband and listen to music while sitting at the beach for several full days in a row, all without any knowledge of how few steps I was taking. I never took any of the long walks that I normally would and surprised myself that I could sit for so many consecutive hours without back pain. I have no regrets.
- I occasionally wondered what my resting heart rate was and if it was dropping from my leisurely days or rising from the increased enjoyment of island cocktails. With no data, I just decided to assume it was dropping and there was nothing to tell me otherwise.
- I woke up each morning without any information to judge the quality of my sleep. I did none of my usual wondering what caused so little deep sleep or why I woke up so much. If I felt great, which I did, I just assumed the missing data would have shown me a beautiful graph with perfect trends for a woman my age.
- Finally, I wondered what time it was, a lot. A whole lot. I kept looking at my wrist and then having to dig my phone out of my beach bag instead. I’m not sure why I kept doing that because for the most part I had no schedule to follow and nowhere to be. Clearly, I had a hard time just letting the day slip away without tracking it.
Surprisingly, I had more fun when I went untracked.
This week’s intention
What I learned from my unplanned Fitbit experiment was that seeking to constantly improve doesn’t always lead to our best life experience. I’m glad my band broke and I might not replace it. I haven’t decided yet.
And while I’m not suggesting we stop trying to improve our health or know what time it is, I am suggesting that constantly seeking to improve can block our natural movement toward rest, fun and play. It definitely was for me.
My intention is to invite more unplanned time and play into my life.
So this week, I want to encourage you to take a look at the various goals and improvements you are making, and consider if they might be interfering with your ability to fully enjoy the sacred life you are trying to progress.
Do at least one thing this week that has no worldly value, but makes your heart happy anyway. Mediate and journal on the value of play in your life.
Have fun and see you next week!
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WORKING WHOLE: How to Unite Your Spiritual Beliefs and Your Work to Live Fulfilled
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