Letter from the Editor: competition is good, but closing your rings is better

By Courtney Warren

Did you know there are some people that believe competition is sinful? Some won’t let their children participate in organized sports, and some extremists won’t even let them compete in spelling bees. 

I’ve been watching a lot of documentaries this summer. 

Something else we did this summer was get rid of our satellite tv set up and go to streaming. With a new Apple TV installed in the house, I was excited to get all of the apps and really see what this new tech could do—other than listening to my conversations and reporting back to the government that I can’t convert ounces to cups. 

Along with Apple TV comes Apple Fitness+, an app you can download and use with your watch to complete all kinds of workouts, from HIIT and strength workouts to yoga and rowing workouts. You obviously can’t do this without the latest Apple Watch, so guess what my next step was?

At the store, my sweet kindergartener made sure to turn all of the Apple watch faces to unicorns before we left with a brand spankin’ new Apple Watch. 

I got home, set it up, and dragged out the old yoga mat and weights to complete my first workout. I absolutely loved it! The instructors were encouraging, the music was great, and my watch showed my heart rate, active calories, and calories burned. 

However, at the end of the workout, I saw an option to share what I had completed with other people in my contacts who have Apple watches. I shared with my dad and middle brother. 
Now, a word about Jack. 

He’s an Alabama graduate with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He went on a baseball scholarship to Georgia Southern prior to his time at Bama, and there is literally not a single sport he can’t do well. If we’re being honest, there’s nothing he can’t do well. 

He reads business and entrepreneurship books for fun, and a few weeks ago thought…. “hey, I think I’ll run a half marathon.” THEN HE DID. 

He’s way cooler than me. 

So, anyway, I share my workout with my way cooler brother, and now he can share his. 

Well, I soon start the habit of waking up to my watch telling me Jack has completed a workout or Jack has already closed his rings. 

Because, you know, who’s not doing a 7-mile run at 6 a.m.? He’s an hour, ahead of me and he’s already closed every one of those suckers before my feet have hit the floor!

So, I’m competing now. I raise my calorie-burning goal (his is astronomical), and I go for walks. I do yoga, I do the core strengthening exercises. I turn on my open goal workout as I load boxes of books from my car to my classroom and walk the two flights of stairs to get there. 

Why? Because like Jack’s watch, every time I complete a workout, he gets a “ding! Courtney has just completed a workout!” 

If Jack has closed his rings, then trust and believe that I have to close mine. 

Did I walk laps around the house at 10:30 p.m. just to make it one night? I’ll leave you to decide. 

However, I feel better, and I’ve actually created a habit. I am now a person who can’t go a day without exercising in some capacity. I used to be an athlete, but Jack never truly stopped. His dedication motivated me because….that’s how competition works. We all want to be better or the best, and competition can be so healthy if we pay attention. 

I’m using my workout time to spend time with God, whether it’s through prayer, listening to a devotional, or shout/singing worship music as I walk through the neighborhood. 

Does Jack know I’m competing? Of course not. He’s running and swimming for himself. I am the only one in this competition. 

I have no doubt that, if he knew, he’d kick it into an even higher gear, and I’d never meet him there. However, this closing my rings because he does sort of competition has been so good for me. 

So, while I continue to be baffled at the idea that some kids aren’t allowed to compete in any way, I’m grateful for my talented little brother and my own inability to let someone close their rings without me doing the same.