Strangers Motivate Me

Strangers motivate me... they really do.

As a very large human being (down to about 315 currently) I struggle with eating and physical activity. I love physical activity and I love eating, the struggle comes with moderation, timing, and positive choices.  I have lost 50 lbs at least 4 times in my life (currently working on numero cinco) and I always seem to gain it back plus more.  I have tried many of the diets and fads that I won't list here because I want to relate this to learning, not my struggle.

A few months ago FitBit introduced their new product FLEX and a friend @MattyWrestle and I started creating a plan to implement these in our 1:1 middle school. This program is in the preliminary stages and we have added the support of Edgerton Hospital in creating the curriculum and the support for this program to succeed. (Please also note that the Edgerton Hospital Foundation is bankrolling the initial 35 student devices! Thank you EH!)  This week I met with the nutritionist from EH for a personal one on one.  If I am going to be a leader in my building I need to model - so I need to learn about nutrition.  Due to our meeting, I have been watching closely what and how much I eat (I have a portion problem)

Another stranger, or group of strangers, that has motivated me lately is some people on a DietBet that I joined.  @DietBet is a 6 week challenge that encourages people to lose 4% of their body weight, for me this time that is 13 lbs.  You can imagine that DietBet is a very social place where accomplishments and challenges are shared, weight loss, healthy food choices, etc.  I have connected there with a few other people that also have FitBits and now we have connected via that and have two running challenges even though we have never met.

The final stranger(s) that have motivated me recently are the people driving by today on my run.  I am not a fan of running, I do it because I know it helps and I have a dream to complete a marathon someday.  Maybe this one.  Each person who passed me today moved over and waved (That is not often the case).  Some of them I may have known but I was too tired to recognize them.  As tired as I was, I knew I couldn't stop because the car over the next hill would see that I stopped and I couldn't let that happen.  Thus I finished my 5.5 mile run...

This has me thinking about learning.  This summer I have also engaged in online learning.  I completed the Google Maps and Earth MOOC, I am enrolled in the 20% MOOC, I am also enrolled in a Math MOOC from Stanford, and a Videogame Learning MOOC from UW, I enjoy learning with strangers.  There is this strange feeling of accountability when working with strangers...I don't want to let them down, I count on them to help me and I look for ways in which I can contribute to their learning.  Is this part of the future?  Are students the same way?  I know that I talk to my children all of the time about the people they connect with online that they don't know... the dangers of that are well documented, but what about if there was a way to make that happen in a safe setting?

What about you, do strangers motivate you?  Do you think that strangers can help motivate our students?  I'd love to hear your thoughts below.