Daily Journal of Life 06.05.23

Thought of the Day
I drove from Mohali to Sirhind today in noon. It was a hot day after rain spells in the past week. I like driving whenever I am on vacation. I generally avoid driving in work days to conserve my energy on more important tasks. Every time I get behind the wheel, I get to see rash drivers putting their and others’ lives at risk. They have no regard for the traffic rules and make a mockery of the road etiquette. Such drivers overtake on blind curves, jump red lights, drive in wrong lanes, honk incessantly, and have no regard for cyclists, pedestrians, or two-wheelers. They only care about rushing to the next red light and standing there like a fool when the one they overtook comes and halts by their side. They behave as if they will save half an hour in an hour’s drive if they go too fast. I wonder what important tasks they need to get finished by arriving a bit sooner. Most of the rash drivers I have seen are reckless in their life too. No wonder they would be doing anything significant with their saved times due to the mindless pressing of race pedals. The most dangerous aspect of this driving is the reality of the risk to the other people on the road. Such drivers do get the results of their thrills. But it is sad that they harm other people too who lose their precious lives to the pleasure rides of such drivers. Families get destroyed, and children lose their parents every day on Indian roads to accidents which actually account for manslaughter. 2 months ago, I had seen an accident of a young couple at the Sirhind-Mohali road. Their SUV was surely driven at a breakneck speed. They were lucky to have survived it but had to bear fractures in major bones. Once or twice a year I get to see road accidents whereby victims lie on the road bleeding or stuck badly in cars after crashes. The way out of such recklessness is strict rules against violations. It can start off with installing cameras on red lights and going against the violators of the red light. Then the police should catch hold of people driving in the wrong lanes. Their vehicles much be impounded. The police should implement it strictly without fail else there is a huge scope of petty corruption. And overtaking on blind curves should lead to a ban from driving for multiple years also followed by permanent suspension of Driving Licences. The police have to be a good implementation agency for the proper following of traffic rules. Sure, strict rules only breed further corruption but it is high time technology is leveraged to catch hold of such culprits. For e.g. In a city like Mohali, high-tech cameras can be installed on all red lights. Their assessment be done in real time by the control room. Serios violators should be stopped by police followed by strict action. Another thing is to publicize the effects of road accidents along the lines of Tobacco control ads. The outcome of both activities is common. They destroy lives. I have become a more sincere driver after 2014. I hope people understand the process without the need to suffer and then learn.
Habit	Review
Exercise: My Religion	Cardio, trained Back and Rehab at Sec-68, Mohali. Strength: 4 sets of Lat pulldown, 4 sets of Row Machine, 4 sets of Barbell Shrugs, 4 sets of Face pulls. 2 sets of Calf Raise machine. The machine was stupid but at least it was there. Rehab: Lock Big 3 (1 set each). Foam Rolling of the posterior chain.
Book I read:  My learning	I am currently reading Show Your Work by Austen Kleon.   Today’s key takeaway was that one should be a good storyteller. A story, a caption can change the context of the object. One should be able to arouse emotions through the work they share by telling a story around their work. So, one should learn how to tell a story so that people listen and it impacts them. My next target after I finish this book is to finish the pending chapters of the book  “Storyworthy”. The book is surely a treasure into learning the art of storytelling. This would go a long way in writing in a way that can move audiences.
Zone 2-3 Training: Heartrate 110-145 bpm on Garmin watch (180 minutes per week target)	21 mins. For the week 95 mins.
Meditate: 5 minutes of practice to start with	Not done.
Homework for life: A daily practice to capture important events of the day that made an impact on you; that can form a story.	I went to the house of debtor in Modern valley. Surprised to see the family reacting in a pre-planned manner to ward off creditors. The guy must have lost self-respect all these years answering doorbells of creditors.
Weight: Daily monitoring to track my eating habits and goals.	Not done as no machine around. Target weight 85.40 Kg.
Push-ups: Just to have an everyday pump	28
Kegel: For a strong pelvic muscle floor.	2 reps to failure
Calves: To grow these minions	50 (40 Seated + 10 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	I listened to Vishal Khandelwal’s podcast called The One percent Show. Vishal is a great value investment teacher who also teaches about living a meaningful life. He has done well in his career as an investor and as a teacher of value investing. I have consistently followed him for the last 7 years and he has grown wiser and mature each year. He has a great blog on his website. The guest in today’s show was Vitaliy Katsenelson, a value investor. He spoke about his biggest life lesson being to be kind to people. Being kind is not just for the sake of being kind or for selfish reasons of wanting kindness in return but for the pure reason of conducting oneself in life where one is kind by choice and purpose. Another main point of the talk was that your preferences decide your circle. The guest has no one in his circle that smokes. The reason being that he himself doesn’t smoke. He explains that a smoker would have a value that would conflict with his and which surely will distant them in future. He further impresses upon Stoic philosophy that one should practice negative visualization and impose artificial scarcity. Negative visualization helps you realize that the bad news is actually not that bad if looked at in context. For e.g. By actually visualizing the worst that could happen you make the bad lose hold of power over you. Abundance actually makes us appreciate things a lot less. He uses the example of drinking coke when in college. Free Coke is good but the 3rd glass of free Coke actually makes you numb to the taste. By drinking coke just a few times a year the author was able to appreciate the taste of coke.
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	114 days
No Po: Abstinence from a vice	363 days.

Pic of the Day 

How to tell a story that people listen