Are you a right-brainer or a left-brainer? The greatest thinkers are at a loss when it comes to answering that question. Just as we admire athletes who are able to hit a tennis ball or throw a javelin with either arm, we should emulate thinkers who engage fully in all kinds of activities without regard to whether or not it suits their specified brain orientation. Labeling yourself as a certain kind of thinker is extremely limiting. Once we've established an idea about our preferences, we tend to veer in that direction every chance we get. We strengthen the image of ourselves as creative or analytical by repeatedly choosing activities that reinforce our concept of who we are. We forget about our infinite possibilities. Perhaps you've had this very common dream: You're roaming around your house and suddenly discover a whole room you never knew existed. The thrill of learning about this brand new space to explore, decorate, and enjoy is palpable--especially if you live in a smallish house with four teenagers, as I do! It's disappointing to wake up and realize we don't really have that extra room. We become resigned to staying within the known walls of our home. We experience something similar when it comes to the "rooms" in our mind. We close off the math, computer, science, investing and research rooms. We seal the doorways to the painting, drawing, poetry, design and music rooms. We lock up entire wings, believing that we can't really "go there", and before we know it, we forget the spaces were there at all. We all know people who amaze us with their seemingly disparate skills--an accountant who paints beautiful landscapes, a chemical engineer who writes daring poetry, a surgeon with a passion for songwriting. We find it surprising only because we've put people in boxes based on their work. It's tempting to label ourselves and others according to our jobs, but one facet of our lives can never tell the whole story. Be glad. Be very glad. We love to see people making dramatic career changes in order to explore a newly discovered talent. It helps us believe that we have the potential to do something that will astound us. Well, believe it. You are the one locking yourself into that mental image of yourself as a left-brain or right-brain person. The rest of us believe in your limitless talents, so why don't you? My hero, Leonardo Da Vinci, was fortunate that nobody pegged him early on as an accountant (he planned to become one, but alas, as an illegitimate child, he was not considered suitable for that career). It's lucky for all of us that he ended up dabbling--in art, engineering, music, geology, and everything else he encountered. He was free to dive into many subjects because he never labeled himself as a certain type. Keep in mind that thoughts become things. Whatever you tell yourself you can't do, you won't be able to do--either because you have convinced yourself you have no skill or because you never give yourself the opportunity to try. Youve put deadbolts on your own doors! Go seamless. Erase that line between left and right. Visualize wholeness and all that it implies. Stop with the labels, and start with the lessons, the rekindled interests, the tentative new directions. Explore those rooms in your mind, and you'll be on your way to becoming the fully integrated human you were born to be. Now if only I could find that extra room in my house. |
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