The Every-Year Itch. Kirsten de Bouter Shillam

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      THE BRAIN – LEANING OVER TO THE RIGHT

       The camera cannot see what you don’t point it at. You can only have one perspective; is it your own? To see differently you might need to stand somewhere else, listen with your heart not your ears, see with your senses not your eyes, taste with your intuition not your tongue. When you take one step to the right, the shadows will fall differently. What you see depends on where you stand.

      Introduction

      We all have a brain. This might seem an unnecessary statement, but not many people are that consciously aware of it, let alone use it to its fullest potential. How do you even know what the brain’s potential truly is? Scientists tell us that the more they discover about this incredible human computer, the more they realise how little they know. So many questions about how exactly the brain operates remain unanswered. Research never seems to stumble upon the human brain’s limitations, but instead opens up more areas for discussion and speculation. Chances are that for you and me that means there’s still much undiscovered territory.

      The brain consists of two halves, the left and right hemispheres. Without needing to understand the intricacies of brain development and for the purpose of this chapter simplifying things terribly, the left brain concerns itself with the logical, with measurable facts and figures. The right brain on the other hand deals with expansive imagination and creative visualisation. However, the two hemispheres work together extensively in various areas. It’s very much a joint effort.

      Brain development happens all the time, whether we are aware of it or not. We are constantly inundated with stimuli that need processing. Our brains are shaped by the environment we live in and the external factors we are exposed to. If you take a broad look at your life, how you think and how you make decisions, would you then conclude you are mostly governed by factual thinking or are you very much a creative?

      ARE YOU A FACTUAL THINKER

      OR A CREATIVE?

      OR BOTH?

      When I ask this question in groups it takes people very little time to conclude that they are mostly factual thinkers. We are living in a “left brain dominated society”, so it’s not difficult to be influenced and impressed by this approach. Questions that arise quickly are: how much does that cost, how long is this going to take, what profit will be made, etc.? In other words, questions that determine the bottom line, the results and the requirements for something. Imagination, visualisation, brainstorming and also the arts are all creative activities, associated with the right brain. In our hierarchical society it seems that the left brain and the “serious”, “demanding”, measurable business-like activities are favoured or certainly deemed to be more important than creative activities. Of course it is nice to be creative (so it’s explained)… as a hobby. The serious stuff is happening in the “real” (left, logical brain) world.

      SO, WHERE IS THIS GOING?

      This chapter looks at the bigger picture of what has made us so fact-focused. It’s threatening to take all life out of our imagination. Any new plans may suffer the overbearing burden of this way of thinking, which could lead to never coming out of the starting blocks.

      This chapter will offer the helicopter-view, a greater awareness to help you see this for what it is. It’s conditioning and certainly not who you are.

      Measuring success

      Most of us have had the relative privilege to enjoy an educational system, where brain development in the form of learning is supposed to take place. This is also where –certainly at the moment–the logical, factual and measurable brain emphasis is considered superior. Children spend their time learning facts and figures, appropriate for their age, against a pre-determined time frame. Creative activities such as art, music and sport are part of the curriculum but they aren’t in the spotlight. They don’t require testing. It is great if you are good at these skills, but almost immediately the question on everybody’s lips will be “what are your marks for maths and English (or equivalent)?”.

      In his popular TED talk “Do schools kill creativity?”, Sir Ken Robinson makes the case for different types of skills and intelligences and the fact that children learn in individual ways. In this, the arts, he says, mustn’t be underestimated as a way of unlocking children’s potential. They can in fact play an essential role for children to find their way of learning and being in their element.

      We have all been shaped through school life and the subsequent selection processes which have of course focused on testing to meet certain requirements. Inevitably that means that people fall into one of two categories, smart or not, a brainy person versus a practical work-with-your-hands kind of person, intellectual versus vocational. Scores in these kinds of tests are seen as high or low. And a high score would always be more favourable than a low score.

      This is what has shaped many people’s judgement of others as well as themselves. Even in the world around us, much of life is filtered in ways that could be measured against a standard. Depending on the scores you would consider yourself a success or not and you would judge others in the same way.

      For many years I worked with a client who was hugely successful in business but had a chip on his shoulder due to his lack of traditional education and his inability to express himself very well with words. However, in his business he was an outstanding talent, a great networker and endlessly recommended as the go-to person. Working in the building trade he was intimidated by people who appeared to be “educated” even though he was far more successful than all of them put together.

      The world we live and work in has advanced far quicker than we have been able to adapt to it. Intelligence was previously seen as a way of retaining facts and knowledge (IQ). Daniel Goleman talked about Emotional Intelligence (EQ), the ability to understand and communicate feelings, your own and those of others. Emotional intelligence has been termed a crucial ingredient to success by having empathy. Therefore it might be more accurate today to define intelligence as the ability to adapt. It’s no longer all about the survival of the fittest, but of the most agile.

      INTELLIGENCE: "MENTAL ACTIVITY DIRECTED TOWARD PURPOSIVE ADAPTATION TO, SELECTION, AND SHAPING OF REAL-WORLD ENVIRONMENTS RELEVANT TO ONE'S LIFE."

      PSYCHOLOGIST ROBERT STERNBERG

      You cannot use old measuring standards in a fast-changing world and box everything neatly in an orderly way. It also doesn’t capture the human experience which is so rich and diverse. Tests don’t measure learning, profit doesn’t measure engagement, diplomas don’t measure talent, rules don’t measure experience. But people are so shaped by it, that it has become the very fabric of our success evaluation system.