[JediNickD] World 2 Level 6: "You Must Unlearn What You Have Learned"

[JediNickD]

Welcome back for another episode of the exciting Adventures of JediNickD! It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away that I joined this site and started my first challenge. Upon my return, I have decided to revisit some of my challenge themes to turn them into lessons as I had been doing more recently.  I feel it is a good way to reflect on my own learning and progress to write about and share these lessons, but I also have another objective. I am cataloging these lessons in a document which is now up to 136 pages. The plan is to use this document as a reference for my personal Jedi training and to pass on for my Padawan training. It isn't just my Nerd Fitness challenges. It includes every Jedi-related writing I have done, training I have worked through, and documents I have collected (which are not protected but have sources noted).

 

 

Challenge Lesson:

"You must unlearn what you have learned." - Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back

 

Chinese Scholar Tokusan, who was full of knowledge and opinions about the dharma, came to Chinese Zen Master Ryutan and asked about Zen. At one point Ryutan re-filled his guest's teacup, but did not stop pouring when the cup was full. Tea spilled out and ran over the table. "Stop! The cup is full!" said Tokusan.

"Exactly," said Master Ryutan. "You are like this cup; you are full of ideas. You come and ask for teaching, but your cup is full; I can't put anything in. Before I can teach you, you'll have to empty your cup."

 

In Jedi training, it is important to let go of lessons learned in the past to learn to see the world in a new way. During my Jedi Training at the IJRS in 2012, I took a course on the Force with lessons analyzing my use of intuition. I found that I typically ignore my intuition when I shouldn't. I rely on logic, which is fine as long as you have all the facts. When my intuition and logic do not align, it is because I do not have all the critical information to make a decision. To rely more on my intuition requires that I take a leap of faith, which I am not in the habit of doing. Listening to the wise words of Yoda, I am relying on my intuition more and more.  Since 2012, I have discovered my intuition can be remarkably accurate in pushing me in a positive direction before I "know" the desired information to make an informed decision. 

In my Toastmasters training, I have found that my initial practice and preparation techniques for speaking in front of others was all wrong for my confidence and self esteem.  I used to write out the entire speech and choreograph the entire speech.  I'd rehearse until I could do it by heart.  It worked great... for practice.  As soon as I was in front of an audience, I had to be perfect.  If I goofed anything, it made me sweat and it threw the entire speech off track.  I take a much more casual approach to speech writing now.  I jot down some notes about what I want to talk about, maybe work out a line or two which will be the take away for the speech, then I just speak the speech over and over.  I get to know the points I want to make and discover how I naturally say them and look for better ways to say them just working on my natural abilities.  This allows me to be more comfortable in front of the audience, since there is no strict scripture.  I just have to know my material forward and back which allows me to think on my feet better and focus on connecting with the audience.  My goal for public speaking is to make an impact on the audience, give them something to walk away with, and influence lives.  When I started Toastmasters, my goal was just to not be horrible and fearful of public speaking.  I am beyond that and actually enjoy public speaking.  It has given me leadership opportunities which I thought would always be out of reach, because I was a chicken.  Well, this chicken crossed the road and became a confident rooster. 

For my fitness training, I always believed that running for the sake of running is boring.  I had a hard time finding ways to make running interesting or a priority.  After the Zombie, Run! app didn't work, I thought I'd give up on distance and focus on sprinting, since I enjoy being fast.  Unfortunately, unless someone is chasing me like in playing football and rugby or there is a team I am competing with, I don't really enjoy sprinting enough to push myself to new heights.  I discovered this summer that I just needed the right motivation.  I now run with Pokémon Go.  The longer I run, the further I go, the more Pokémon I catch and the more I progress in the game.  The gyms are always just difficult enough to present a challenge and push me to keep improving.  I fear that once I dominate gyms with my superior Pokémon, that I might not enjoy the game as much.  I've noticed that some players have created a second account to help them hold down gyms, getting them to level 2 or 3.   I kind of think of that as cheating, since the game really wants you to team up with other players.  If the game starts to get boring, then I have these two options to make it more interesting.  Starting from scratch with a second account or finding players to team up with on my morning runs, gym battles, etc.  Those morning runs will always be important in progressing to the next level in the game, so I don't really see that part getting boring.  I might just need to change the setting for my runs to discover different Pokémon. 

There are lots of areas where we fill up our minds with knowledge and opinions, but to truly grow you need to look past what you already know or think, see things from different perspectives, try different approaches, and experience new things.  To continue to do things the same way, you will only get the same results.  Change is growth.  Empty the cup.  Unlearn what you have unlearned to properly prepare yourself to be enlightened.

 

My Main Quest and Mission:

My mission is to be the best Jedi I can be. My main quest is always to enhance my overall health, fitness, and knowledge to be prepared for whatever challenges life could throw at me. As a Jedi, I need to be able to help people, whether that is a life threatening situation or just a charitable one. There is no boss level in Jedi training, there is only tomorrow.

 

World 2 Level 5 Challenge:

FITNESS:

• Work Up a Sweat - 600 minutes of conditioning training for the entire challenge.

  DEX +2, STA +3

  The weekly plan is a minimum of three 45 minute tabata runs with Pokémon Go, plus plenty of walking, hiking, or other activities.  I crushed my goal last challenge, but my family tends to throw a wrench in all plans I make for evenings and weekends.  The minimum won't get me to my goal.  I have to go above the minimum for at least 60 minutes.

   

• Stretch and Strengthen - 600 minutes of exercises and stretches for the entire challenge.

  STR +2, DEX +1

  The weekly plan includes 10 minutes of regular stretching each day, two 20 minute sessions of physical therapy exercises and 30 minutes of other strength training each week.  The minimum leaves 40 minutes to make up by the end of the challenge.
   

DIET:

• Weight Control - Lose 2 lbs by end of challenge. Never weigh more than 163 lbs. Complete measurements before or during Week 1 and again during or after Week 4.  The last part of this challenge is that I want to minimize how many times I have the thought, "I ate too much".  I will count and report on each time I have that thought to identify how I can avoid the pitfall in the future.

  CON +3

  Going to eat salad and veggies as much as possible with apples and dark chocolate as my sugary snacks.  Avoid soda, ice cream, and potato chips.  Minimize cheese and nuts.  Most importantly, I have to watch my portions.  I cannot ever have two "large" meals in one day.
   

LIFE:

• Get Stuff Done - Complete 28 Tasks or Projects from any of the following areas: Toastmasters Communication Practice, Toastmasters Leadership Practice, Webmaster Work, Jedi Training, Job Work, Charity Work, House Work, Yard Work, Home Renovation, Auto Maintenance, Family Activities (to keep it diverse, no more than 4 from any one category)

  WIS +2, CHA +2

  I'm still procrastinating, deciding to do the fun stuff first and delay the less fun stuff.  Jedi Training is definitely something that is not getting any focus.  I added more areas to the list to track (I don't want to not do something just because it doesn't make the list) and increased to 28 total (7 a week, or 1 a day).  Incorporating a reward and consequence has been really helpful, so I'll keep doing that.  My wife identified that we may be playing too much in our free time together and not getting to the bigger projects.  She works weekends, so we have very little time where we can tackle a project together.  The focus has been on smaller projects where single parenting is easier.  When we are together, we usually have plans for something fun.  I am having trouble motivating the kids to be useful with weekly chores, as well.  I think I have a viable solution.
  REWARD:  For each week I don't procrastinate undesirable tasks (where I think "I'll do it later") where I overcome procrastination and do it or at least work on it, I'll reward myself with one game of Madden Saturday morning. 
  CONSEQUENCE:  If I procrastinated at all, then I have to give up my morning to working on something I procrastinated. This plan won't influence my goal grade, but it will give me incentive to do all the things, instead of just the fun ones.

 

Some might look at my reward scheme and think, "why not have a reward and consequence for the other goals", and my response is that I do.  A healthier, muscular, sexy body is all the reward I need.  ;-)

[JediNickD]

After a morning 5k run, an hour of touch football, an hour of volleyball, and an hour of racquetball in the last two days, I'm sore and tired (and a little sunburnt), but I'm at 161.2 lbs and feeling pretty good about that.  For lunch, I'm walking over to Subway for a Tuna sub covered in veggies.  I feel like I need the protein today.

 

Tonight is the Area Contest for Humorous Speech and Evaluation Speech.  I'm competing in both and am a little nervous as I've made drastic changes to my humorous speech and haven't practiced it much.  I'll have time to practice today before the contest, but my goal is not to memorize every line as I'd done in the past.  My goal is to live in the moment and be confident in what I am saying.  Speaking from the heart is how I plan to succeed.  I have a good chance to move on to the Division level since there are only 3 contestants and 2 get to move on.  Just have to not finish last!  Even with more contestants, the evaluation contest may actually be less competitive with one new Toastmaster and one veteran I'm-not-trying-too-hard Toastmaster.  I'm confident and ready to enjoy the contest.  We'll see how I feel in 7 hours before it starts...

[JediNickD]

Eek.  I'm starting out high at 163.4 lbs after a weekend with a Bowling kids birthday party and a Wine Tasting with some delicious Sangria, which I usually avoid.  My stomach still aches from the fruity wine overload.  Better food decisions this week!

 

I ran hard this morning going over 5km according to Pokémon Go.  I mapped it on Bing Maps at 4.2 miles.  I'm using my GPS next time for an accurate measurement.  I think I need new running shoes, as now both my old shoes need inserts to cushion my feet.  The soles are just gone. 

[Aquamom]

The distance tracking on Pokemon Go isn't accurate at all!  I would trust the maps mileage.  Good for you for getting out there!  I love getting new running shoes!

[JediNickD]

19 hours ago, Aquamom said:

The distance tracking on Pokemon Go isn't accurate at all!  I would trust the maps mileage.  Good for you for getting out there!  I love getting new running shoes!

 

I know the distance tracking on Pokémon Go isn't accurate.  I make my runs as straight as possible and rest at any turn to maximize my Egg Incubation, but I figured it would be close enough to estimate.  I think my estimations have been under.  Either way, I'm kicking ass at running for distance which I never thought I would ever enjoy.

[JediNickD]

162.4 lbs

 

I basically skipped dinner last night eating a handful of gnocchi with red sauce and a bit of ice cream. The kids and wife went to the pool while I cleaned up after my wife's messy baking.  I rested this morning with a half a mile jog to warm up for pull ups and leg raises.  Tomorrow I'll be doing physical therapy exercises.

[Aquamom]

35 minutes ago, JediNickD said:

 

Either way, I'm kicking ass at running for distance which I never thought I would ever enjoy.

 

And that's all that matters!  Well done!  

[JediNickD]

162.2 lbs

 

Stretching and physical therapy for 40 min this morning, feeling good.  I may go to the gym at lunch.  We'll see how it times out.  Dinner last night was a Blue Apron Leek Grilled Cheese sandwich.  It was awesome.  I don't eat a lot of leek, but I could totally find ways to add it to things especially recipes which call for onion.  I'll have to look up the health benefits of leek versus onion.  There is another onion-y thing that comes in the Blue Apron recipes.  I can't remember what it is, but I need to look it up too.

 

I ordered my new running shoes.  Hopefully, they fit well.  New Balance usually do, but there weren't any wide-width in my size for any of the affordable shoes.  I couldn't justify $70 for a pair of shoes which will last a year when I can spend $50 for almost the same thing.  Amazon has free returns, so I can send them back if they don't fit and get the upgrade. 

 

Today is Stan Lee Day in LA.  I'm in Maryland, but I think I'll bring the theme to Toastmasters tonight.  I'll have to figure out something to do for it.  I'm leading the meeting, so I can use the theme in my transitions, but I also want to come prepared with a speech should someone drop out of a speaking role.  "With great power comes great responsibility" is one of my all time favorite quotes.  Maybe I'll use that and dig up some more like it.

 

Yesterday, I finished up my humorous speech manual.  After placing 3rd at the Area, I still need to be ready in case one of the contestants can't compete, so I needed to practice it again.  My stories are funny and I've found a great way to tell them with excitement and enthusiasm, but I'm still awkward in telling it and my objective and take-away are weak.  I've got a few days to work on it.  I finished 2nd in Evaluation, so I will be moving on to the Division Contest in that competition.  I was blown away by the winners use of eloquent phrases for praising.  I am strong at citing strong and weak points plus giving helpful feedback while keeping it personal, but I suck at the praise part.  I need to show the audience I truly enjoyed the speech, content, and delivery with more enthusiasm.  With an improvised speech, it is difficult for me to focus on my emotions, actions, and words simultaneously.  I should improve by taking notes on where and how I want to show enthusiasm instead of just the words I want to say.  Saturday is the contest.  It should be fun and I should not worry about where I place.  I just want to do my best and focus on how I can get better for next time.

 

 

[JediNickD]

161.6 lbs

 

Toastmasters last night where I received an round robin evaluation on my Evaluation.  The main points of feedback were to better plan my introduction, praise, and structure to tie in the theme of the speech.  Doing it early on is when it counts most.  I developed a template to help me organize my notes into a winning evaluation speech.  The ending is the part I am most likely to lose points on.  I push my time as far as I can, then wrap it too quickly.  I need to have time for a proper summary, encouragement, and take-away.  I want to have a "feedback is encouraging, enlightening, and helpful" take-away prepared.

 

I also need to be prepared with my humorous speech should the other contestants miss the contest.  I've got studying and practice to do today, tomorrow, and Saturday morning.

 

I ran this morning in the rain for 2.5 miles in 30 min.  I finished off the workout in the gym with some of my neck physical therapy exercises for 15 min.  Racquetball tomorrow morning. 

[JediNickD]

159.8 lbs

 

It feels good to write that.  It has been 15 years since I weighed under 160 lbs.

 

Last night, I walked 90 minutes with the dogs.  We basically did my full morning run route of 4.2 miles shaving off a few blocks on the way back. 

 

I posted my progress for a few mini challenges.  I'm playing Sonic with the Assassins, Mario Kart with the Adventurers, and a fantasy RPG with the Rangers. 

[JediNickD]

160.4 lbs

 

The weekend was full of activity.  Friday night, we went to the pool and did some swimming letting the girls ride us like a dolphin.  It is tough to swim underwater with a 6 year old bouncing on your back.  The 8 year old is certainly heavier, but less spastic. 

 

I competed in the Division Evaluation Contest finishing 3rd.  I'm happy with my effort, but I know I could have done better.  I need to practice being more excited and enthusiastic.  I'm too serious and reserved. 

 

Played a card game similar to Cards Against Humanity called That's What She Said.  It is exactly what you would expect.  It was a lot of laughs.  Highly recommended. 

 

Watched "Strange Brew".  Such a fun movie. 

 

Sunday, I ran the dogs for 60 minutes for 3.7 miles, had a Potluck at church, then helping an older couple with their VCR setup (returning later to assist with a few tapes that weren't working), then stirring apple butter at a friend's farm, then watching the Jets lose to the Seahawks and some other football while doing dishes and cleaning up the house.

 

Through such a busy weekend, I ate pretty healthy with plenty of veggies and little snacking, but I did drink a 20 oz Dr Pepper and eat a bag of potato chips on Saturday.  After an hour and a half drive to the Toastmasters contest I needed to wake up and have a snack.  I should have packed something.  There were veggie platters at the contest, but I can only eat so much carrots before my stomach hurts. 

 

My wife made fried rice, cucumber and onion which was so good.  I can't eat raw cucumber, but cooked with some rice and onion is delicious!

[JediNickD]

160.2 lbs

 

My wife is out to get me.  She asked me to bake cookies twice, gave me unsolicited seconds of dinner (spinach, chicken, and rice yellow curry!), is planning Country Fried Steak, Mashed Taters, and Country Gravy (one of my fatty favorites) for dinner tonight, and was asking to go to Red Robin later in the week.  I must be strong in the face of adversity yet polite, tactful, and compromising as to not upset anyone. ;-)

 

I ran 3.6 miles in 60 minutes this morning.  At 2.4 miles I took a 10 minute break to level up a gym and drop in a 1600 Slowbro who I named Muckman (I have a 90's Ninja Turtles theme).  I factored out the break from my final time count.  Using my Motocast GPS watch to track my time and distance is a good plan, because I can also look through and see my speed range to tell if I am getting faster. 

 

Last night, I danced my butt off with my 6 year old.  After homework, she wanted to play a game.  She choose "Dance With Me: Angelina Ballerina".  We practiced some ballet moves and I played some Wagner for background music.  Ride of the Valkyries is really fun to do terrible ballet to.  Then we watched Bug Bunny's "What's Opera, Doc?" with the famous "Kill da Wabbit" and "Spear and Magic Helmet" scenes.  She liked it a lot, especially Bugs' silly cross-dressing as Broomhilda, but was ready to cap the dancing off with some Just Dance YouTube videos.  I think we did 6 or 7 and that was enough to get me sweating.  It was a fun night. 

[JediNickD]

159.6 lbs (new low!)

 

This morning, I stretched, did physical therapy exercises, completed the Bridge Zone for the Assassin Mini (whole lotta dippin'), and did some bench pressing.  Last night, my wife made Alaskan Salmon with mini twice baked potatoes.  I ate only a small portion of each and managed to not clean up my kids plates (usually, my over-eating undoing as I hate throwing delicious food away).  I saved all the leftovers, mostly just salmon, for lunches, which I needed as I'm almost out of turkey.  I need more veggies though. 

 

My wife baked a few pies and a cake yesterday, which meant the kitchen was a disaster area.  I rolled up the sleeves and took care of it for her.  She was very thankful, since while I was doing that, she completely cleaned the chicken shed.  The inside of the shed looks great, but she left some stuff outside the shed still to be cleaned up.  Tomorrow night, I'll most likely take care of that mess.  The bedding all needs to be bagged instead of composted due to mites, which is a drag.

[JediNickD]

No weight this morning.  The scale was missing from the bathroom.  I tabata ran/walked 3 miles in 50 minutes.  I got up so I didn't go as far as I wanted. 

 

At Toastmasters, I gave an educational session on Keeping the Commitment to Toastmasters by sticking to the Toastmasters' Promise.   It was a great opportunity to discuss how the club members keep to the program and recognize why they are there.  You have to have a concrete "Why?" for anything you make a priority, else it won't stick.

[JediNickD]

161.0 lbs

 

I didn't eat well yesterday.  Lunch and dinner were both just too much food.  I thought I'd be ok since I'd been doing so well, but that cheat was just a bad idea.  Cheat days are just sucky.  I can't have them.  If I want to succeed, then I can't cheat.  I can't take a day off from my diet.  I'm just so pissed off at myself for doing that yesterday.  I feel like I should punish myself by not eating at all today.  Another bad idea, but I need to do something to make up for my errors yesterday.  Any ideas?

[JediNickD]

159.4 lbs yesterday (new low!), 160.0 lbs today

 

I did 40 min of physical therapy yesterday morning before getting on a cramped plane for many hours.  This morning I stretched for 20 min then ran for 20 min.  I've got plenty of bodyweight exercises planned for this evening.

[JediNickD]

161.6 lbs yesterday, 162.0 lbs today

 

Gotta eat better and watch the portions.  I did well on work travel, but over the weekend I didn't fair well at the Ren Faire.  My wife didn't help with dinner last night, chili dogs and boardwalk fries.  I cleaned out the garbage from the fridge to make room for healthy stuff.  Hopefully, we get to the store soon.  She's cooking the next two nights as I have Toastmasters and a dentist appointment. 

 

Also, my body needed some rest after all the walking over the weekend.  Hardly worked out the last two morning as I slept in.  Tomorrow is early bed and early rise for a long run in the unusually warm weather. 

 

I'm going to do a workout at lunch time and try to skip lunch and just have a protein bar.  Workout will be the bodyweight exercises for the Assassin Sonic MiniChallenge.  Planks hold AMSAP, leg raises AMRAP, hollow body AMSAP, then alternating hollow body and superman holds for 5 sets.

 

 

[JediNickD]

160.2 lbs yesterday, 161.0 today

 

Ran 3.8 miles in 60 minutes yesterday and 3.4 miles in 60 minutes on Wednesday.  Played 60 minutes of Racquetball today.  I stretched for 10 minutes each day.

 

I have a final report to write up for progress.  I'm pretty confident I hit all the marks.  All I should have to wrap up this weekend is body measurements and some good dieting.

[JediNickD]

World 2 Level 5 Challenge GRADES:

FITNESS:

• GOAL: Work Up a Sweat - 600 minutes of conditioning training for the entire challenge.

  DEX +2, STA +3

  RESULTS:  855 minutes (not including the hours of walking around at Renn Faire and Pumpkin Orchard).  Looking to bring up the intensity of my training with more sprinting for the tabata runs.  A

   

• GOAL:  Stretch and Strengthen - 600 minutes of exercises and stretches for the entire challenge.

  STR +2, DEX +1

  RESULTS:  645 minutes.  I stuck to the stretching but didn't do as much physical therapy as I should.  I did more lifting exercises than I intended.  My neck has stiffened, so I need to watch myself and get the neck therapy done.  A

DIET:

• GOALS:  Weight Control - Lose 2 lbs by end of challenge. Never weigh more than 163 lbs. Complete measurements before or during Week 1 and again during or after Week 4.  The last part of this challenge is that I want to minimize how many times I have the thought, "I ate too much".  I will count and report on each time I have that thought to identify how I can avoid the pitfall in the future.

  CON +3

  RESULTS:  Starting weight was 163.4 lbs, ending was 160.6 lbs.  I made the 2 lbs and other than my start, I was never over 163.  Measurements improved over the challenge.  I need a new belt as my old one (which I bought this time last year) doesn't have a hole to fit snug.  I "ate too much" 4 times and only one came during the week, when I went out for lunch with co-workers, then still ate a large dinner.  The other 3 were weekend occurrences (Renn Faire and parties).   A

LIFE:

• GOAL:  Get Stuff Done - Complete 28 Tasks or Projects from any of the following areas: Toastmasters Communication Practice, Toastmasters Leadership Practice, Webmaster Work, Jedi Training, Job Work, Charity Work, House Work, Yard Work, Home Renovation, Auto Maintenance, Family Activities (to keep it diverse, no more than 4 from any one category)

  WIS +2, CHA +2  A

  RESULTS: 
  Toastmasters Communication Practice - Completed Humorous Speech Manual, Evaluation Practice, Preparation, and Competing for Contest, Educational Session, Two more speeches (4)
  Toastmasters Leadership Practice - Organizing PR Campaign, Organizing Membership Campaign, Sponsoring New Club (3)
  Webmaster Work - Three Major Updates supporting Conference (3)
  Jedi Training - none
  Job Work - Four Major Tasks completed (4)
  Charity Work - Donated clothes, Extra Life write-up and recruiting (2)
  House Work - Dishes, Laundry, Vacuuming, Holiday Decorations, Cleaned Cat Litter Boxes (4)
  Yard Work - Cleaned Chicken Shed, Cleaned Rabbit Hutch (2)
  Home Renovation - Fixed Couch baseboard (1)
  Auto Maintenance - Inspected Air Intake System of Sedona (1)
  Family Activities - Games and Movie Night, RPG, Pool, Renn Faire, Pumpkin Picking (4)
  Adventuring - Tombstone Karaoke, Conference Networking (2)
  
  Total = 30.  I'm sure I missed some things.  I have more Home Renovation and Yard Work to make progress on, but I was hardly home to do any of it.  I need to visit my Jedi Training and make some progress.  Lastly, I want to start a Website for my Jedi Training and Life Coaching, but I have a lot of preparations, design, and learning to do before I get to publishing anything.  I'm been practicing write-ups for lessons here, but I need to work on VLOGs.  YouTube and Facebook would be great practice area, plus I can use the Toastmasters "Communicating on Video" for info.