S07E001, Lessons from a Rubik's Cube, Endurance

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In this first episode of a brand-new season Nathan and Steven explain some of the things that they have learned from solving a Rubik’s Cube.

Endurance is your weekly spiritual workout, whether you think of yourself as a beginner, an intermediate, or advanced!

#GoDeeper

Steven first learned to solve a Rubik’s Cube during a recent time of illness. Since he didn’t feel fit enough to exercise or study, but felt determined to achieve something, he sat down and had a bash at solving the Rubik’s Cube. After getting nowhere fast, he turned to the internet and learned how to solve the Rubik's Cube.

Through learning to solve the Rubik’s Cube Steven learned three additional lessons. 1) Sometimes we need the help of others. 2) There is value in writing what we learned down. 3) The importance of humility.

He goes into further detail into these lessons that he learned.

#GoDo

Nathan and Steven discuss this week’s topic: Lessons from a Rubik's Cube.

They talk about the importance of ‘spiritual spotters’ and the ability to take advice.

And they share a little more about how well they can solve a Rubik’s Cube.

Check out this week’s episode to find out what a Rubik’s Cube can teach us about Faith and Fitness.

Steven and Nathan

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Nathan: [00:00:00] Do you know how to solve a Rubik's Cube? It's quite complex and I reckon most people couldn't work out how to do it without some help. I know that was certainly the case for me. I didn't work out how to do it until I found some instructions online. 

Hello and welcome to another episode of Endurance. This is our new season, Season Seven. You may have noticed a new logo, and we've also got a fresh format for each episode to make it even more enjoyable to watch, if that's even possible. 

So ,in this episode, as with the Rubik's Cube, sometimes we need help. We can't do everything on our own. Now, we may not like that idea because, of course, it hurts our ego to think that we can't achieve something independently, sometimes. But it's really important that we're able to take advice. We're able to receive support in order that we [00:01:00] can really succeed in our physical and spiritual training. It's a very biblical notion, being dependent upon others. 

We can't be completely independent, and that's what we're talking about in this episode of Endurance.

Stay tuned with Go Deeper with Stephen, up next.

Jo: You'll never guess what, Dave, the Dog has his own show and it's called Dave unleashed. 

Steven: Are we sure about this? 

Jo: Well, I'm gonna be there on hand. I'm gonna help him. 

Steven: Mm-hmm. What, what mayhem are we to expect? 

Jo: Well, to keep him on track he's got Story Time, he's got Art time, so you know, and I'll be there to help him.

Steven: What could possibly go wrong?[00:02:00] 

Welcome back to Endurance. As Nathan said we're talking about the Rubik's Cube and, how, what we've learned from solving the Rubik's Cube. So I have it here. We've solved it a bit more since Nathan's done it, and basically I've been a bit ill of late. I'm on the mend, on the rise getting better, but I have had some rough days where I haven't been able to do much, haven't been able to exercise much, or study much.

So I've been solving the Rubik's Cube. Or I set out, determined to solve the Rubik's Cube and I had a good bash, but I couldn't get anywhere until I went to the internet. And that's how I solved it. I solved it when I went by the internet, so technically I cheated. But. I learned to solve it, and that was really satisfying to see all the colors lined up and see it solved, which you will see at the end of this episode.

But I learned some things from solving the Rubik's Cube There are a few interesting things and, first of all, I couldn't have done it without instructions. There is no way I could have done it without instructions. I'm looking through all the steps and how anyone who's worked out is amazing, because there are so many different algorithms.

I, I [00:03:00] did see the figure for combinations, the number of combinations you can use for a Rubik's Cube. It's not a number that I can read! I couldn't even read it in scientific notation. It is just this long line that covers so many digits for how many, what do you call it? Numbers of things you can do with this. The number of different, what you call it permutations, algorithms. So complicated. It's only 3 by 3, but the number of times it just, it multiplies. Math isn't necessarily my greatest strong suit when it comes to that sort of maths anyway. 

I couldn't have done it without instructions because it's so complex. And the same goes for life. We can't do life without help, without instructions from other people, without the word of God, without the Bible, we're gonna be a bit hard pressed. 

There are people in countries who don't have access to our Bible and God sustains them in a unique way. But since we have the Bible, we should use it. Because as the Bible says

All [00:04:00] scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting for training and righteousness, so that the man of God may be completely equipped for every good work. 

But in order for us to be equipped for every good work, we need instructions. We need the Bible. In order for me to solve a Rubik's Cube, I needed help from the internet. I needed instructions. 

Second lesson I learned is I couldn't remember all the steps. Like I've memorized most of the steps on this little piece of paper that I've written down here. the last two steps. I cannot for the life of me remember, no matter how many times I've sold the Rubik's Cube, because the last step has the most number of twists and turns to it.

So that brings me back to something that I've heard many times. The value of writing stuff down. If you have an amazing encounter with God, it is important to write it down. If you learn something important, or valuable, that's where having a diary, I'm told, is a good idea. It's not something I've been very good at.

However, when it comes to solving this Rubik's Cube, [00:05:00] and I've found myself stuck on some of the steps, formulas, I wrote it down to remember. We should do that in life. We should write down what we learn as we go through life. That's where our diaries are actually very helpful. I should do that. 

It reminds me of a joke I saw not too long ago. Someone said, there are two great lessons I've learned in life. First one I can't remember, and the second is to write everything down. That's a bit of fun. 

The third thing is humility.

I was really chuffing myself when I finally solved it. After weeks, days of trying to learn the algorithms on the computer. I was really chuffed with myself! And then I discovered that some people have actually done it without any instructions. Someone actually had to work out those instructions. In fact, the guy who did it, who invented this Rubik's Cube. It took him a month to solve it, but he did it without any instructions 'cos none existed. He had to come up with it. He had to work out how to solve his own creation. and it took him a month. 

There's a world [00:06:00] record for how fast someone can solve a Rubik's Cube. It's 3.47 seconds. Someone has literally solved a Rubik's Cube in 3.47 seconds. My record is, I think, less than three minutes. That's after lots of practice and repetition. So there's some humility learned from solving a Rubik's Cube. 

There are people out there in life who are gonna meet, who are gonna be more skilled, more experienced, or just, honestly, have no life if they can spend that much time trying to solve Rubik's Cube. I've spent a few days when I've been a bit rough and Ill learning to solve it. 

I've done it many, many, many times to help distract myself if I've been feeling a bit ill. But I think I've sort of grown out of it almost. It's like, yeah, I've done the Rubik's Cube, been there, done that, and there are people who have still learning, still trying to beat their records. And they're gonna, you're gonna face loads of people like that in terms of sport, in terms of fitness, in terms of faith, where they're more experienced, more skilled, and we shouldn't compare ourselves to them.

We should just be humble, shouldn't compare. 

So [00:07:00] three lessons that I presented. First one being that I need instructions in life. We all need instructions. If we're gonna solve a Rubik's Cube or if we're gonna do anything in life, we need instructions, we need advice, guidance from other people who've been there before us.

Second, writing stuff down is really important. If I can't remember how to solve steps in life, then I should write 'em down, when I do learn them. 

And lastly, humility is such an important thing because whatever we learn to do, no matter how chuffed we may be, there's gonna be people out there who can do it faster, or who've learned it quicker.

So, yeah, that is the lessons that I've learned from solving a Rubik's Cube.

Jo: The newsletter, BerryBytes is back .

Andy B: Yay. 

Jo: And in a very exciting format. We really, I say we, Andy in particular has really changed it, and it's there to [00:08:00] update you, but encourage and inspire you as well. 

Andy B: Yeah, it's not just saying look at what we've done, aren't we awesome? Although maybe that's part of it. Actually, the first thing that you see is designed to encourage and inspire you. Some't that you can share to somebody else to encourage, inspire them, as well. 

So go to www.BerryBunch.org and check out Newsletter. Sign up. Dead simple. And you'll get the BerryBytes Newsletter.

Nathan: So, here we are for the last segment of Endurance, which is Go Do. And we're going to discuss the topic a little bit further and, and all that jazz.

Steven: And then we'll end with Go Do.

Nathan: Exactly. Couldn't have put it better myself. So here we are. Rubik's Cube. [00:09:00] Solved now, as you can see.

Steven: Most satisfying thing in the world to see that that solved.

Nathan: It is marvelous, and I now know how to do it without any instructions. How about you? 

Steven: Well, I've done it without instruction when the last two steps aren't needed. Well, it's not the last two steps. Basically, you solve it so far and then, right at the end there'll be one or two things out of place. Sometimes there won't be. So I'll have solved it without instructions, so technically I can solve it without instructions. However, for the majority of the time, there's a step more that needs to be done. And it's really complex on this chart. There's just so many steps .

Nathan: I see. So, yeah, so more on the topic of Endurance.

Steven: Faith and Fitness. 

Nathan: Faith and fitness. Yeah. So how does this relate in all that you're probably wondering, you know, what's that going to do with this? As you put it very well, we do need help sometimes. And just as with the Rubik's Cube we needed help, we need help in life a lot of the time [00:10:00] just to get through a day, for example. Perhaps for a certain exercise we need support, some assistant, perhaps some advice to make sure that we perform a certain exercise properly.

And it's really important in our spiritual training that we can receive advice from other godly people, we turn to God's word for instruction. 

Steven: Yeah, I was just thinking, actually, when you are doing weights on a bench particularly particularly heavyweights, you need a spotter. You need someone who's watching you and they can tell you right, time to stop.

Nathan: Yep. 

Steven: You've done enough. In faith we also need a spotter. We need someone, I suppose, I hate the word, you need someone who can be accountable to. But you know, you know what I mean? Someone who, a spiritual spotter, if you will. Someone who can say, yeah, best stop that with the reps or, you know, keep going. Or best add some weight, take off some weight, or, let me take that off your hands, please. 

Nathan: Yeah, exactly. It's really important. I like that. A spiritual spotter. Yeah. [00:11:00] Accountability is not a very sort, sort of word we'd like to talk about much, but it's important that we are able to be, that others can hold us to account, others can keep us in check. 

At the end of the day, when you're weightlifting, you can't make sure that you are forming the exercise properly, because you can't watch yourself from the outside. You need somebody else's point of view. It's the same in our spiritual training. We need someone else's point of view. And often we need someone else to tell us how to do something.

Steven: Mm. We're coming back to the Rubik's Cube, the solving of the Rubik's Cube. Do you have any lessons from it? 

Nathan: Yeah, perhaps I didn't, I, I suppose I like the idea of solving it without any help. But I realised I just, I just couldn't, you know, no matter how many times I tried, I could not solve the Rubiks Cube. So, I suppose, it taught me that, well, we need help, and that we're not necessarily gonna be able to do everything on our own.

Steven: Yeah. The biggest lesson that both of us have got from the Rubiks Cube is that we [00:12:00] couldn't do it from scratch without any assistance. We had to go to the internet, had to work out how to solve this thing. Because did you see the figure for the number of algorithms, or what'd you call it, permutations?

Nathan: Oh yeah. It was just ridiculous. 

Steven: Covers, like the whole screen on the biggest computer, you can get. Just numbers. The smallest text, I think it might have been a 10, 12, 15 digit number. 

Nathan: Yeah, well, so ,in conclusion, it's important that, as with this Rubik's Cube, when you can't do something on your own, you need to be willing to go to others for help, for advice, and that may not, we may not like the idea, but it's really important if we want to succeed, if we want to get stronger and fitter, we need to be willing to go to others for advice and help.[00:13:00]