From Right Brained To Light Brained

I'm really fatigued by the whole left brained/right brained debate—while I think it's worth debating, it's not the issue of our time.  I believe the issue of our time is how quickly we can successfully adapt in an era of rapid and dramatic change.  Anyone who's worked in technology related fields understands this—only the difference is that technology's effect has permeated nearly every nation in the industrialized world.  It's like breathing now. 

This is what was at the core of my "Fuzzy Tail" POV from which the above visual was pulled.  Each time I think about how overwhelming change is—I remind myself that the qualities outlined in the visual are becoming the critical soft skills that will allow individuals and business not to merely survive—but thrive.

That said, I look around and realize that while change appears to be rapid—we still tend do things the way it's always worked for us in the past.  This may be the dilemma of our time.  Either way, it's still worth assessing your "light brained" qualities.  If you have them, worst case scenario—you'll be able to utilize them when needed. If you don't—it might be worth taking the time to do or learn something new.  Maybe it's something you don't really understand and it makes you nervous. If so, all the more reason to take it on.  So Are you left brained?  Are your right brained?  Are you a little of both? 

Don't forget about being light brained.

Comments

[Adam Kayce]

Love this.

I really dug Dan Pink's 'Whole New Mind', and this adds a grounded spin to it all.

Once again, DA, you be thinkin'!

[Rachael Hampton]

Great reminder on the basics open to change and learning to be open to change...

I enjoyed the Fuzzy tail slides !

[Tim Walker]

"I look around and realize that while change appears to be rapid—we still tend do things the way it's always worked for us in the past."

This is the major conundrum: the engineers (and biochemists, financiers, etc.) can come up with new ideas faster than we can acclimate to them. There are some powerful drivers in the human brain (whether you're right- or left-brained) that keep us locked into the same habits most of the time -- because these habits are perceived as safe. This trait is hard-wired in, and it's hard to circumvent.

Parsing out which changes to embrace (vocal user communities are here to stay) and which ones to reject (I *don't* need two cell phones at once) is a major challenge for any knowledge worker today, and it's only going to get worse.

[Paula Thornton]

Actually we're more whole-brained than the norm: http://www.wabccoaches.com/bcw/2007_v3_i2/roi.html

And here's a cheat-sheet for left/right:
http://www.funderstanding.com/right_left_brain.cfm

And this one has some 'light' terms: relaxation, visualization... http://www.mentalgamecoaching.com/IMGCAArticles/MentalTraining/HighPerformanceThinking5.html

[Marc Meyer]

I say all the time that the only constant in life is change though I find myself resistant to change in my offline life and open to anything in my online life! What is that? Perhaps I relish the order and routine away from my machines and devices? Or perhaps I'm just accustomed to the change and unpredictability that presents itself every day and thus any type of hiccup is greeted with a grain of salt and shrug of the shoulders.

[Geoff Livingston]

Well said, David. It's interesting how quickly we need to adapt. We must be fluid, change is constant today, and to get caught in old thinking can be really dangerous.

Yet there's a balance right? Core principles which are timeless. But those principles aren't tech oriented, they are people oriented... Anyway, good food for fodder.

[Jesse Kanclerz]

I think it apt to add a quote by Alvin Toffler which relates directly to this post.

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn."

Sometimes I feel like the inquisitive part of my light-brain is set on overdrive, so much so, that the agile part is not fleet enough to keep up.

Anyone else ever get this feeling?

[Aronado]

hola! Senor excellent presentation. Yep, the "overlap" seems to be becoming increasingly necessary. I really really loved the "Sun shaped Expertise" model founded on passion. Amazing man, thank you!!

Aronado~

[Melissa Paulik]

I am fairly right brained. But every now and then I throw away the prioritized to-do list and let the flow (and the internet) take me where it will. It's on those days that I find the time to do things like respond to blog posts, answer questions on forums, tweet, etc. It's like a little mini-vacation for the technically inclined.