Use Both Sides

I’ve written about left and right brain before; how important I think it is to be WHOLE-brained.

Many people have left-brained jobs. Analytical, logical, correct.
Equally as many people have right-brained jobs. Creative, subjective, all over the board.
But how many of us have both?

Well, I’m about to show you how to work on your weaker half.

Left-Brainers:

Get your neurons on the right side a-movin’. Check it out from http://www.frederikfrede.com:

Here are some of my ideas for stretching your right side:

Go to a concert
Go to a symphony
Go to a movie
Read fiction
Go to an art show/exhibit/tour/museum. Understand what you are actually looking at.
Travel
Wear color
Smell, eat, taste- amazingly and lovingly crafted foods- that you wouldn’t normally eat.
Paint something. Anything.
Dance
Take pictures- use your phone, use your hands to make a frame
Take music lessons
Let go

How do I maintain creativity? I push my cultural ‘comfort zone’. You can’t use that part of the brain if you don’t engage it, right? So what are you doing to push your comfort zone?

Right-Brainers:

Your turn. I know you think this will seem dull, but it’s good for you.

So, of course, no one from the left-brained side came up with something as cute as the right-brain diagram above… so instead of the 33 ways to stay creative, I found a left brained chart on being logical… aka, the structure of an argument (I’m sure you right-brainers could jazz it up a bit).

Here are some of my ideas for stretching your left side:

Try a New York Times crossword puzzle just once. Give your self a goal of 5 words.
Listen to an analyst call for a public company
Complete a puzzle
Read a non-fiction book
Read some famous US court cases
Put together IKEA furniture, a bicycle, anything
Learn a new word a day
Go to boot camp
Create a routine for something in your day
You Tube some presidential debates
Watch an episode Carl Sagan’s Cosmos
Read the paper
Balance your check book/create a budget

How do I maintain my logical side? Well, I have a left-brained job. I’m also not afraid to have conversations that may initially seem dull or numbers-driven. I force myself, knowing that ultimately, I’m building up my left-brain too. It’s good to know these things in life, even if they may not seem the most exciting. You can also gain accomplishment from left brain activities and heighten your intellectual capabilities… a.k.a… feel smarter!!

Here’s to a whole-brained you!