Recently on Twitter someone asked me “So How are you going to Motivate Me”? To answer the question we need to think a little about the human condition and how behavior is sustained or changed. Here are a few related thoughts, followed in red by our vision of how a well-funded rBods will be able to motivate you, and in blue by what you are probably thinking:
Each of us is different. In essence, each of us is a mosaic composite of our past experiences. Our behavior at any given time is therefore dictated by what has gotten us by before under similar circumstances. Unhealthy behaviors, such as overeating or lack of physical exercise, are no exception. rBods can’t change the past, we can only help change your future. That’s true!
Motivation comes in many forms but each of us reacts differently to different stimuli. Motivation only occurs if the person receiving stimuli is already in a receptive mindset. Meaning that they have already recognized their bad habit and wish to create new healthy one. rBods, if sufficiently funded, will
develop disruptive software that will have the power to educate, entertain and motivate each person as it learns more about what makes them tick. Current motivational software is primitive compared to the existing infrastructure and technology available. Some new applications for Smart phones are surfacing as are Exer-games (Wii, Neat-O games) but they lack a complimentary healthy-living platform where they will get exposure to millions of healthy minded people. We also believe that it is time that health delivery took some lessons from Pixar studios in its ability to influence kids and adults alike. Wow, I really like that idea!
Social Networks have connected us to friends and relatives in ways that we have never been connected before. Now, many of us are spending more time with people on-line than in-the-flesh! Even those of us who aren’t that committed are realizing the benefits of virtual ‘communities’ and their information sources. It is interesting to note that Myspace started out as a music sharing network and Facebook began as a way for college students to meet. But look what happened…they both became sophisticated general communication tools with no other primary purpose. Sure, there are millions of subgroups that congregate using their service but there is no common theme connecting all of them together…because we are not all musicians or college students. What nobody has ever created is a world wide social network with a theme that is common to all human beings…the health of their bodies. We have thousands of websites dealing with the human body…many online health information delivery sites such as Web MD, Fitness Magazine, Wellsphere, They are useful but essentially one way streets. In essence these websites are a continuation of the old communication paradigm encompassing newspapers and magazines that were incapable of interfacing directly with their audience and truly customizing content for each member. Their communities are barely tapped other than an occasional forum or comment on a blog. I think he might have a point here! Nobody has poured millions of dollars into creating a platform to motivate us to have healthy bodies; a platform that furnishes us with incredibly diversified and humorous tools so we can become healthy mentors for our loved ones; a platform where young and old will congregate and mix as they do in real life (I read his blog about ‘kids are our future’); a platform that allows consumers to be empowered in the field of medicine; a platform that understands your body and anticipates your needs; a platform that delivers customized exercise video and audio playouts; a platform allowing different levels of exercise verification to receive healthy living rebates from insurers! OMG Now he’s over the top again! We at rBods (Bob and Cat?) have a vision of a world wide community that has a purpose and a mission that will disrupt the way we humans deal with our most cherished gift, r Bods!
As human beings we belong to social groups that influence our behavior. Since healthy living behavior is associated primarily with eating and physical activity, groups that directly engage in those activities with us are our strongest influencers. If we want to change our current unhealthy behavior then this is the first place to look. rBods will always encourage people who feel comfortable about their bodies, and who can afford it, to join “activity centers” in their communities if it is convenient for them. This is the best way to meet active, healthy people that can motivate you the most. If rBods is sufficiently funded then one of our primary goals is to help those of you who don’t join “activity centers” to find healthy friends within your community…ie Neighbors to exercise with regularly. Oh, Yea, Sure You Can! ROFL This may seem like a tall order and I am the first to admit that it is…but financially the cost of such an effort (tens of millions) (hundreds of millions) would be a drop in the bucket compared to the stream of money our country spends every year on avoidable chronic conditions (hundreds of billions) (over 1 Trillion). Right now, someone just down the street and around the corner from you is having similar thoughts about healthy living. You could go door to door asking for someone to exercise with until you meet that person or you could join rBods during the time we blitz your neighborhood! This guy has lost his blooming mind! No Investor would ever consider this! We didn’t have any plans for finding you “eating buddies” before I started writing this but it actually could be incorporated into the rBods platform! I would love to share some meals with someone who is also trying to lose weight once in awhile!
The most basic (non paid) care giving group in the world is one’s immediate family and close friends. They actually have the greatest amount of influence over an individual’s healthy behavior. Unfortunately, most are not educated in medicine, best practices of behavioral modification techniques or current state-of the-art commercially available health care products. rBods would change this by creating custom health care applications tailored to an individual but expanded by him/her to their circle of care givers. Maybe my husband would listen if more of us were in the loop. Sensitive personal information would be handled with the utmost care and only disseminated as directed by its owner.
So to all of you that wonder how we at rBods plan on motivating you – the answer is as complex as the problem of behavior modification… The simultaneous and continuous application of several diverse customizable behavior-modification / reinforcement and educational software through hybrid virtual and physical social communities, directed toward the incremental positive modification of all individual behaviors within that group, coupled with a shared quest for a healthy living environment will produce untold social good by creating a more educated, healthier, and happier society (including you!). Say what? Oh, the rBods Healthy Living Platform!
