A Note from Natalie
Natalie is the resident writer, but not an expert. For expert advice, please book a consultation with Dr Quinn
Okay, how do you decide what you’re going to do each day?
- Check your emails first and see what that says needs to get done
- Show up and wait for the requests or instructions to come in
- Wake up fully planning what your day entails – or at the very least, your priority MUST-DO items – which you’ve predetermined
Nobody’s a 3, are they?
Well, number three is the first sign of a life which is self-directed. You don’t wait for other people before you get started with each day. Your time is precious. Your life is precious. There are things you want, and there are steps to getting you closer to those – and as long as you fit those steps in every day, you’re on your way.
Every area of life reflects your approach.
- Reclaiming your kitchen and making your own food, instead of paying money for someone else to decide on flavours, tastes, and content.
- Going on holidays where you pay to switch off instead of turn on – the goal is ceasing all activities, instead of being as abundantly alive as possible.
- Browsing – oh, the infernal browsing – allowing whatever catches your interest to dictate where your mind goes, what you skim-read or what links you follow…
It might sound like it’s going to take a lot more energy and effort to live a self-directed life, but actually, the alternative is what’s truly exhausting you:
Attention fatigue leads to a complete inability to focus, which means getting simple tasks done feels way more difficult than it should!
Waiting on other people to direct your actions means wasting huge amounts of time just… figuratively twiddling your thumbs.
Not connecting to your own sense of goals and desires and exciting prospects really doesn’t save you any time or energy at all, it just ends in frustration, restlessness and the lingering feeling of pervasive dissatisfaction.
So where’s the sacrifice?
Be self-determining. Make your own decisions! Grab your own responsibility by the horns – and it might just reveal itself to be your very own unicorn!
Image still from Blade Runner, 1982
This week’s recipe: a sweetheart treat!
Sweetheart slaw with passion fruit dressing
By Jamie Oliver
Important: Debbie is selecting recipes with combinations of ingredients to inspire your cooking regimes, but while they are healthier choices in general, they will not address individual issues. You MUST make sure that all ingredients you use are compatible with your own individual medical conditions, medications, allergies and goals.
Organic Ingredients
- 1 sweetheart cabbage
- 3 large spears of asparagus
- 3 spring onions
- 2 sticks of celery
- 1 large green eating apple
- 1 carrot
PASSION FRUIT DRESSING
- 1 large orange
- 3 ripe passionfruit , plus extra to serve
- 2 tablespoons cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Method
- For the dressing, finely grate the orange zest into a bowl and squeeze in all the juice. Halve the passion fruit and scrape in the pulp, then add the oil and mix together.
- Finely slice the cabbage, discarding the core. Remove the woody ends from the asparagus, then finely slice along with the trimmed spring onions and celery. Peel and coarsely grate the apple and carrot.
- Pop all the shredded fruit and veg into a large bowl. Pour over the dressing, mix well and season to taste.
- Enjoy straight away, or better still, cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days so the veggies soften slightly and the flavours mingle and develop. Mix well before serving and spoon over a little extra passion-fruit pulp, top with shredded spring onions and sprinkle with poppy seeds.
I really enjoyed this article, great post 🙂
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Thank you very much! Lovely to get more feedback! 🙂
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