It is good to sometimes not know everything. Some people like to call that being “naïve,” but there’s something to be said about not knowing all the bad or unpleasant, shady stuff out there.
When I was in the Army, I learned of some of the ways soldiers could “cheat” when it comes to drug tests. But I was almost laughed at for not knowing before. Unless I was trained on the topic in some way, it is really the worst thing to not know how to cheat on something like this? Many learn just from discussion anyway, but these “discussions” do not always happen. So some simply learn later than others.
As far as scams go, especially those that are intended to steal your hard-earned money, sadly, not everyone knows about those, either. But what I said still applies. It’s not bad that one does not wake up and automatically “know” all of the scams that exist.
When it comes to exercise apps and devices, there are quite a few out there. Several months ago, I began using FitBit. Not long after that, my wife told me about ways people “cheat” on there to win challenges against other people.
That caught me by surprise. Not the overall concept of cheating, but for it to be done on an exercise app or device. My mind never went there, even in terms of the competitions, because I am always motivated to try and keep up with others or even to lead the way when it comes to them.
It seems a lot of people cheat on these apps. A lot. As with most cheaters, few will actually admit it, but there are very easy ways to tell. I will not state those ways here, for obvious reasons, nor will I state the manners in which people cheat. If you’re that anxious to know, you can look it up yourself.
My question is this…who actually “loses” there?
Yes, when it comes to competition, it is all about “winning” to many people. Win by any means necessary. So everything else is out the window. You want the bragging rights. You want to be able to say that you “dominated” someone else or even a group of people. Nothing wrong with that at all.
But what is the point of these exercise apps and devices? Why even go through the trouble of spending money on the devices or downloading the apps if you’re just going to half-ass it? Does it bring you that much joy to know that someone is looking at their apps or device and really feel “dejected” after losing to you in one of the challenges?
No, everyone does not have to think like me. I use the challenges as motivation. I win some and I lose some. If I lose, I just try again. If I win, I never boast about it. I hope I am inspirational for others to try and do more to “win” the next time, or at least to try and keep up with me. Seeing people up and moving means more to me, honestly, thank winning challenges. And it is even greater to see new friends join in.
But the purpose of these apps and devices is to better yourselves. Why would you want to “cheat” and claim you did more than you actually did. That would be like going through the trouble of heading to the gym every day, only to get there, do nothing, and when you see someone else post on social media their gym routine, you lie and say you did what added up to more.
I am not sure what exactly it is that make people want to “beat” others so desperately in cases like these. It’s like when we’re driving and those people who rush to pass you just so you both can end up at the same red light 100 feet away. What did that do?
A person who “loses” a challenge in which they walked 10,000 steps in one day is far better off than that person who “wins” one as they cheated their way to 20,000. Remember, those exercise apps and devices are first and foremost, for YOU. The challenges all come second. Embrace the thrill of competition, but remember what “winning” actually is.
When it comes to these exercise apps and devices, as much as some may hate to hear this, as long as you are utilizing it to its fullest capabilities and not cheating, especially in the competition, then truly…we are all “winners.”
People's Court 