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Are You Right Brained or Left Brained?

Written by RJC | Friday, January 29th, 2010 | |
Filed under: Education

Have you ever wondered why you excel at certain activities and fail miserably or slow at grasping others?  We are all programmed a certain way. Even though we all have one brain, one hemisphere out of the two dominates.  This dominance heavily influences our make up and personality.  The key is to understand the differences between being the right brain and the left brain.

The Right Brain Thinker

The right brain processes visual information.  For those with a dominant right hemisphere it is much easier for them to see the whole picture.  Often times they lean towards their instinctive or gut feelings to make decisions.  They are more in tune with subjective elements of life such as art or music.  Given their holistic processing abilities, they may appear to be random, chaotic or fantasy-oriented.

They rely on feelings and emotions.  This makes their decisions, thinking or logic irrational at times due to their current state of emotions or feelings.

At times, a right brain thinker may be way too far ahead of themselves and their capabilities.  With their “think outside the box” mentality, they often neglect aspects that require analyzing.

Rather than adapt to changes to rules or the environment, a right brain thinker will try to change the rules or environment.

Traits of the right brain:

• Holistic processing
• Intuitive
• Random
• Subjective
• Fantasy Oriented

The Left Brain Thinker

The left brain is the hemisphere that is analytical  It handles the logical and rational elements of life such as language and math.  They handle information through linear and sequential processing.  For those with a dominant left hemisphere, everything needs to be objective and reality-based.  They do things properly, in order and follow the sequential rules.

They rely on facts and logic.  This makes their approach to decisions, thinking and logic too bureaucratic and rigid.

A left brain thinker can be too skeptical and over-analyze subjects.  They tend to not see the big picture and can mentally block themselves because of their focus on flaws.

Traits of the left brain:

• Linear processing
• Logical
• Sequential
• Objective
• Reality Based

In Relation to the Office and Business Environment

The office and business environment can be dynamic,  a full mix of right and left brain thinkers.  It is here you will meet and work with many types of people from the analytical to technical to the creative.  How do you fit in?

Perhaps you are a right brain thinker who is creative and full of ideas.  You are able to see the big picture such as developing a concept for a business or a marketing campaign.  However, having an idea will not get you there.  You need to surround yourself with others that are able to make this fantasy, a reality.

The same goes for the left brain thinker who is rational and objective.  If your business is to grow and develop, some “out of the box” thinking is required.  Either it is to save costs, to improve efficiency or to stir up morale, you need to get creative and perhaps rely on someone who is more intuitive and steer you in a forward moving direction.

The examples are endless.  The world is populated by both left and right brain thinkers.  The lefts and rights need to team up as one side completes the other.

Which Hemisphere Dominates You?

In life, we process both types of information thus we use both hemispheres of our brain.  However, you may notice tendencies that make up your personality leaning towards one side or the other.  I implore you to figure out which brain hemisphere is more dominant within you.

Right Brain versus Left Brain – A Creativity Test

The key to understanding ourselves is to not only focus on the positives but also our shortcomings.

Additional Readings

• Right Brained versus Left Brained – The Designer/Developer Paradox
• Understanding Your Brain For Better Design – Right vs. Left
• Left Brain Characteristics
• Right Brain Characteristics

Tagged as: analytical or creative, right brain versus left brain, self development |