Smartwatches. Beep. A sound from your wrist. You look at it and know that it came from that fancy watch you have on. It showed a message telling you it is time to stand up. You have been sitting for the whole day.
Beep. Another sound. This time a message from a friend asking where you are as she wants to meet up and have dinner.
Beep. Another notification. This time, it is your calendar reminding you of your schedule to go to the gym an hour from now so you have to prepare and get ready.
What about the time? What time is it?
Just like our phones which were primarily created for the purpose of calling people from long distances and are now capable of doing a lot of things other than making a phone call, like playing games, surfing the internet, doing research, and reading books, smartwatches can do a lot of things, more than telling the time, which is the primary purpose of a watch.
Smartwatches, aside from telling time, can tell us our heartbeat, notify us of messages and respond to them, and be notified of activities that we need to do like standing up, measuring our running pace, or even measuring our sleeping habits.
While all of these are good things, for some, I do not find the benefit of it. For me, it does not help me. These features are not beneficial to how I want to live my life. It does not help me achieve what I want to accomplish.
And you should be thinking the same. Why? Let me tell you stories about my experience with smartwatches.
The people who wore them
In a parking lot one evening, while I was smoking during my break from work, I overheard a person flaunting his smartwatch. He was talking to a woman and man about his smartwatch and everything about it.
He mentioned all the capabilities of it. That it can measure his exercise, tell him his heart rate, and a big screen enough to read his messages and respond to them, about other smartwatches and compare them to what he has saying his is better because it is what he wants.
He said that his wife got it for him maybe to push him to go to the gym. To start getting healthy. To start living healthy as, well, that is one capability of smartwatches. To monitor your health and eventually be better.
I think he is just creating reasons to justify having that expensive watch.
Another time when I went to dinner with the leadership team of the company I just joined. At one point in the dinner, I noticed everyone’s watch. Behold. Everyone is wearing a smartwatch. Different from each other. Different make. Different sizes. Different wristband.
The reason I noticed is that there was a point where almost everyone looked at their watches and scrolled through them. Looks like everyone received a message. I did not. I did not have a smartwatch. I checked my phone for the message and it was just an email which does not merit anyone’s attention.
Well, it did get their attention but it is nothing to be worried about.
I had a smartwatch before. My wife gave it to me. I turned off all notifications except the calendar reminder. I used it for running. I do not wear it at home so being at home most of the time, I was not using it..
Accidentally, it was dropped and the screen broke. My wife was so apologetic and offered to cover the cost of having it repaired. I was not worried. I actually do not care. It was not important to me. It does not give me any value.
The same things it offers can be done through my phone. So why have it?
Finding real value
The people I was at dinner with, they may find having a smartwatch beneficial to them. They can use it for work and be efficient at what they do. They can easily be updated on any important information and respond to any communication they need to in the shortest amount of time possible.
They found value.
The man flaunting his smartwatch in the parking lot is finding justification for wearing it. Speaking of its functionalities that will benefit his health which for me is just an excuse he keeps telling himself for having the smartwatch. If he wants to be healthy, it requires discipline, not an expensive watch.
Am I being judgemental? Maybe.
The truth is we buy things that are trending. We want to be cool. We want to stay relevant. We do not want to be left behind. And even if we can not afford it, we push ourselves to get things that most of the time are not what we need to live a happy life.
We create the reasons to buy things. We make up excuses just to get it. We tell ourselves silly justifications for spending too much money so we can keep it.
But if we put it in reverse, think of what we need to do, how to do it, and look for the things that will help us achieve our goals, then the true value of what we buy is realized.
Start with a purpose in mind
We all have to establish what we want to achieve. It does not matter if it is big or small. We are on our own. Only we can tell ourselves what we want to accomplish.
Once we figure that out, we understand the actions needed to get it. The necessary steps, processes, methods, and approaches must be laid out so we have a clear path to walk on towards our goals.
The tools we need to do those actions come next. This is when we start looking for the necessary equipment, skills, gadgets, and everything that will enable us to walk the path and move toward the finish line.
Most of the time it is the reverse. We buy the tools. We study. We get the gadgets. We spend time and money. And then justify why we are doing it. Makeup reasoning why we buy expensive gadgets when on the contrary, we just want to be in. Be cool. Be with the crowd. Belong.
However, if we do the exact opposite of that, which is technically the right way, we are more inclined to do and buy what is necessary for us to achieve our goals. And during the process on our way to our vision, we feel more equipped, satisfied, and fulfilled.
Additionally, if the tools we have does not help us, then it is not the right tool. It is not giving value. It is not beneficial for us. It is not right.
So, let us not fall into this trap of buying because it is the trend. Or justifying the need just to have it. Start with what you want to accomplish, what you need to do, what you need to have, and then get it.
By having this mindset, you will have a more fulfilling life and become better that you were yesterday.