Daily Journal of Life 05.05.23

Thought of the Day
Today I saw a beggar in the 3B2 market in Mohali who was an amputee with one leg. He strategically stood looking at us and the moment we ordered the Litti-Chokha he came hopping on one leg directly in our direction. I realized that he was coming for money. He took a brief halt and then said ‘Sat Sri Akal’, can I have some money, please? I was not going to react but Amrit gave out a note of 10 Rs. I always disapprove of giving beggars any money. I stayed silent because I did not want a discussion on this. The beggar took a pause and touched me on my shoulder for more money. I didn’t say anything and Amrit told him that I was with them. He then hopped to the other guys standing next to us. He tried the same tactic with them. They refused poetically. He was taken aback by their refusal as if they had denied him his right. He said If you don’t wanna give, it’s Ok. He appeared to pass them a favour by not getting offended. I thought of Uday, a coursemate of BMC 349 at HMI, Darjeeling. He was an amputee too with one leg. He had a fighting spirit. He wanted to complete the course and even climb mountains. He was participating in Marathons. He was from a humble background and managed finances to join the course. Tragic events can leave people dead or with permanent losses of bodily functions. There are no words to describe the trauma and pain of the persons who face these events. It becomes an added weight to the already challenging life. The reaction to these events can make or break a victim. You can choose to live in the past and repent having to face these circumstances of life or choose a path of courage to realize your dreams and think Big like Uday does. I wanted to give the Beggar a piece of my mind but I did not think it appropriate to do it in front of Mom and Amrit. Again, it is not my task to change him. If his conscience was right he would do it himself.
Habit	Review
Exercise: My Religion	Trained Arms and Rehab at Sec-68, Mohali. Strength: Biceps 3 exercises: 4 sets of Dumbbell Curls. 4 sets of Hammer Curls. 2 sets of Preacher EZ Bar Curl. 3 sets of Preacher Dumbbell Curl. Triceps 3 exercises: 4 sets of Triceps Rope Extension. 4 sets of Triceps Kick Backs. 4 sets of Triceps Overhead extension. Rehab: McGill Big 3 (2 sets each). Lock Big 3 (1 set each). Lying Back extension.
Book I read:  My learning	I am currently reading Show Your Work by Austen Kleon.   The key takeaway for today was “Attribution”- to give credit to the source whose content you are sharing. Always hyperlink because people don’t bother googling names. I should hyperlink the books and podcasts or other sources I read or learn from.
Zone 2-3 Training: Heartrate 110-145 bpm on Garmin watch (180 minutes per week target)	0 mins. For the week 74 mins
Meditate: 5 minutes of practice to start with	No. I will try before sleeping.
Homework for life: A daily practice to capture important events of the day that made an impact on you; that can form a story.	Saw a daily wager Sardar under the Anytime Fitness Gym. The concept of self-respect and dignity came to my mind. Every individual has a desire to be respected and recognized by fellow humans. One’s position and birth decide where that person gets placed in this spectrum. The lower your position in the social hierarchy, the harder it is to get people to respect you. The world is cruel. People look down on the poor. For the poor, self-respect and dignity is a hard thing.
Weight: Daily monitoring to track my eating habits and goals.	87.10 Kg. Same as yesterday Let’s see progress till 30/05/2023. Target weight 85.40 Kg.
Push-ups: Just to have an everyday pump	0
Kegel: For a strong pelvic muscle floor.	2 reps to failure
Calves: To grow these minions	15 (10 Seated + 5 Standing) + 0 Tibialis Raises
Write: To take forward a passion not realized	Blog
Mewing: Just a fad maybe. To breathe better; for a visible jawline	As I write this
One Podcast: Podcasts to learn and grow. Utilize Travel time	Huberman labs while driving to Mohali. Today’s podcast was about Visualization and Mental Training for improved learning. The key concept was that the Mental practice of a movement pattern or an action is better than no visualization of that practice. But the visualization part is not as helpful as the real physical practice of that concept or action. Both practiced can help in better learning for sure. The key takeaway was that one should indulge in action than dreaming about one’s goals and actions. It is the practice in the real world that helps you get closer to your goals, not the daydreams One important thing for me was that if one is injured and not able to perform a specific movement, a visualization practice of that movement can definitely help in going back to that movement physically. So, if you are injured, visualizing yourself doing your desired movement can help you get back to doing that movement. Huberman also talks about the method of training your visualization for a specific movement. He calls a 15-second period an ‘epoch’ which is 5-second visualization of a movement 3 times in a row totalled to 15 secs followed by 15 secs rest. 50 repetitions of this movement in a day, 3-4 times a week. While 50 times is insanely a lot but one can start with less.
Flossing: Remove Plaque, prevent cavities	Done in Morning
Brush at Night: Needs no description	Thankfully
Skin Care: To look at least my age and age gracefully	Doing well. Happy to have carried the skin care kit with me for the trip to Mohali.
Clean: No Intoxications for a spiritual, healthy, productive, and meaningful life	113 days
No Po: Abstinence from a vice	362 days. 3 more for a milestone.

Pic of the Day

Mom prepared this delicious Custard Fruit mix with Honey & chia seeds.
It was a delight to eat this healthy dessert.