“It might take a year, it might take a day, but what’s meant to be will always find its way” Unknown
I believe one of the reasons people develop burnout and mental depletion is because we have more outputs than inputs.
A couple of years before I wrote this book, I tried to start but gave up. I had a weak idea and rough outline but zero inspiration to tie it together. That was because at the time my outputs greatly exceeded my inputs. I closed the blank pages knowing that one day when the time was right I would re-open it and dust off the keyboard.
Examples of outputs in the modern world include most left-brain activities like day-to-day work, speaking, numbers, and chores. The left-brain is responsible for analytical thought, logic, language, reasoning, science and maths, writing, and number skills.
Examples of inputs in the modern world include most right-brain activities like reading, creating content, and expanding your imagination. The right-brain is responsible for arts, creativity, imagination, intuition, insight, holistic thought, music, and religion.
The more time you spend living in your left-brain, the longer it takes to reactivate your right-brain. If you work a highly stressed job, your right-brain deteriorates overtime. Accountants will lose the creativity they once had as a child, unless they have right-brain hobbies. Balancing your work with a hobby of the opposite brain-side may help to alleviate stress. There is an inverse relationship between stress and creativity.
I am most creative when I am travelling and on holiday. This is not a coincidence, there is less stress. The right-brain is at its full moon. In the past I have felt the urge to write short stories and poems whilst being away disconnected from normal life. But when I returned to reality, the desire did not travel back home with me.
It was in November 2018 on a road trip to Hawke’s Bay, when the inspiration came to me in full force. Every winding corner from Auckland to Napier struck me with a new idea. Every tree waved at me with encouragement. The clouds drizzled a small amount along the way. But what I was experiencing was a torrential downpour of revelation. I’m back. I put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) again in February 2019.
I would point it out to you if I could, my source of inspiration I owe the most gratitude to. It is a bookcase overflowing with books. An A-frame stand stacked with about 100 titles. Two months prior to my revelation I had rediscovered my love for reading. I was reading one book a week (a lot compared to the one or two a year I used to read). My brain was exploding with inspiration. My inputs had started to exceed my outputs. My theory is that you must consume (read) more than you produce (write) to not exhaust your inspiration.
I encourage you to draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper. Title the left side ‘Outputs’ and the right side ‘Inputs’. Write down the activities you do in a week and note how long you spend doing each of these. Are you depleting yourself or energising yourself? When I attempted the first version of this book, I was mentally and emotionally exhausted. A level of exhaustion that can’t be renewed after a decent night’s sleep, a Starbuck’s size coffee, or a hearty roast with all of the trimmings.
As important as nourishing your mind with healthy thoughts and inspiration, is nourishing your body with a healthy, balanced diet. That is what this book is about.
Why MY NUTRITION MENTOR?
My = “belonging to or associated with the speaker”. Nutrition = “the process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for health and growth” or “the branch of science that deals with nutrients and nutrition, particularly in humans”. Mentor = “an experienced or trusted advisor”.
The word ‘mentor’ has been popping up more and more as of late. The key differences between a mentor and a coach (if you are wondering) is that a mentor is relationship oriented, a coach is task oriented. A mentor is development driven, a coach is task driven. A mentor requires little oversight, a coach requires active engagement. A mentor measures success in broad terms, a coach measures success as specific goals. I am honoured you chose me to be your Nutrition Mentor.
Why Realigning Nutrition with Intuition?
Realigning = “change or restore to a different or former position or state”. Nutrition = “the process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for health and growth”. With = “accompanied by (another person or thing)”. Intuition = “the ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning”.
Intuition is now totally disassociated from Nutrition. We don’t eat what or when we feel like eating. We eat what and when we are told we should be eating. Realigning Nutrition with Intuition means being in-tune with your body and rediscovering what diet/lifestyle is most suited to you. MY NUTRITION MENTOR is not a diet plan (sorry if you purchased the book expecting that!). As I trained as a Naturopath and Holistic Nutritionist, I am not going to give you a strict plan. That is for you to decide for yourself. Utilise My Nutrition Mentor Diary (at the back of this book) to reflect on your discoveries.
I encourage you to read a chapter a week to stay in the flow. By all means go ahead and read more if you have time. Whether you set aside time first thing in the morning when you wake up, lunch time, commuting (not while driving) by bus or train, or as part of your nightly ritual before you sleep (hopefully this book doesn’t put you to sleep), make a commitment to yourself to just do it.
Throughout the book you will come across #healthytakeaways. These relate to goals at the back of the book. You can implement the key ‘bites’ that are relevant to you and incorporate these while you are in the process of reading this book. The reason I recommend reading one chapter a week is so you can slowly implement #healthytakeaways from the corresponding chapter, without it seeming overwhelming. Try not to hop, skip or jump to the #healthytakeaways at the end of the book before you have read the relevant chapter. It’s about the journey, not the destination.
Ponder this. When you read with no intention, are you really reading or are you just scanning words? When you read with an intention – the intention of absorbing and applying new information, and gaining knowledge; you are allowing yourself to open-mindedly become a human sponge.
I have been called a sponge. In my opinion, it is the best compliment ever. Especially when my hero was Spongebob as a child. Now you are going to think of me every time your kids are watching Spongebob Squarepants.
“A sponge is someone who is tirelessly driven to seek and absorb new information. In general terms this means someone who is highly curious, possibly even somewhat obsessive about gathering information and learning from it” (Forbes). Be a sponge.
Digest and absorb this book. For optimal digestion, it is recommended to chew up to 30 times before swallowing. An optimal amount of chewing, results in optimal digestion, optimal absorption of nutrients, and optimal health.
Translate this to reading. Chew the facts thoroughly, swallow the information, digest your thoughts and ideas, and fully absorb MY NUTRITION MENTOR to achieve optimal health.
*Intro to MY NUTRITION MENTOR by Liv Kennedy
Your Nutrition Mentor,
FB: Liv’s Apothecary & Health Clinic
IG: @livsapothecary_healthclinic
#healthytakeaways
