Are You Using the Power of Your Whole Brain?
The brain is the most important part of a human being as it makes us what we are. There is a tremendous potential for us to utlilize it more effectively to enhance our life quality.
Self-awareness gives us the ability to examine our own thoughts. This is useful for creating a personal mission statement using imagination and conscience, functions of the right side of the brain that enable us to practice Habit 2
Our first-creation ability can be enhanced by using this right brain capacity. The findings of Brain dominance theory basically show that the left hemisphere of the brain is the more logical/verbal one and the right hemisphere the more intuitive, creative one. The left deals with words, the right with pictures; the left with parts and specifics, the right with wholes and the relationship between the parts. The left deals with sequential thinking; the right with simultaneous and holistic thinking.
People use both sides of the brain, but one side or the other is usually dominant in each individual. People stay in the “comfort zone” of their dominant hemisphere and process every situation according to either a right- or left-brain preference. As Abraham Maslow stated, “He that is good with a hammer tends to think everything is a nail.” Right-brain and left-brain people tend to look at things in different ways.
We live in a primarily left-brain-dominant world, where words, measurement and logic are preferred and the more creative, intuitive and artistic part of our nature is often subordinated. Many of us have difficulty tapping into our right-brain capacity. We are capable of performing many different kinds of thought processes and we rarely tap our potential which we can enhance using self awareness.
As Stephen Covey reveals in his 7 habits book, from the brain dominance theory, it becomes clear that the quality of our first creation is dependent on our ability to use our creative right brain. Utilization of our right-brain gives us the greatness and quality of leadership with the ability to visualize, to synthesize, to transcend time and present circumstances, and project a holistic picture of what we want to do and to be in life.
It is easy to conclude that a balanced use of the brain with emphasis on the right creative side goes a long way in leading a proactive and effective life of happiness and harmony.
All the best,
John Meredith
The Learning Center - A UK partner of Franklin Covey
Tags: brain, creativity, effectiveness, proactive
