Activity Trackers

We have definitely come a long way from the pedometer and into the tech and application developments of devices that are close to rivaling what the monitoring systems hospitals use. If you wear a watch, the Basis B1 Band is a great choice. Not only does the display default to show you the time in large, easy-to-read numbers, it’s a sleek, modern-looking device that actually looks like a watch. In addition to offering you hard data about your nocturnal movements and metabolism, the Basis tracks habits or goals such as waking up or going to bed at the same time every day, torching more calories or getting up from your chair to move around for a certain amount of time during the work day. As you do better meeting such goals, the Basis lets you unlock more of them, so you’re constantly in improvement mode. The Misfit Shine is a quarter-sized, futuristic-looking device you can wear on your clothing, on a sport or leather band on your wrist or as a necklace. It’s a beautiful device made by Misfit Wearables. Within the Shine iPhone app, you determine what activity level you’re aiming for and earn points according to how well you perform meeting that goal. So what is holding you back?

Living Well

Happiness is something that is very individual for every person. There might be three people in the same room and five definitions of happiness. It might include sitting down and doing some web development or just reading a good book. Either way, it is definitely something to think about at least a couple times a year. This has been thought by humans since ancient Greece. Aristotle came up with one of the most famous definitions of happiness, eudaimonia, or human flourishing. By this theory of self-actualization, personal well-being and happiness are the highest goals that we can strive for. For German phenomenologist Martin Heidegger, a good life could was not possible unless you were living authentically, directing your life on your own terms, rather than following the blueprints set by others. To Emerson, the early American Transcendentalist thinker, taking each day in stride -- as unburdened as possible by worries about the past and future -- was the best route to a life well-lived.