Research has it that we operate from two sides (hemispheres) of our brain; the left brain and the right brain. Usually, the left brain controls the right side of our body while the right brain controls the left side of our body. So when, for instance, someone has a stroke in the left brain, it affects the right side of their body. When it comes to our manner of thinking, the operation of the brain follows a different logic.  

Brain Dominance Theory

The brain dominance theory explains that the left brain and right brain process thoughts differently and one part is usually more dominant than the other in an individual. The left brain thinks of things in pieces while the right brain thinks holistically. The left brain processes words and numbers, while the right brain processes pictorial representations. According to this theory, left-brained people are more logical detail-oriented while right-brained people are more creative and intuitive. So a mathematician could be said to be more left-brained while an artist more right-brained. This theory of dominance is still subject to corrections because some researchers argue that the personalities of individuals must not necessarily be defined by one side of the brain. People use both sides of the brain in different ways. The theory only suggests that they use one side more than the other.

Generally speaking however, we can train ourselves to use both sides of the brain effectively and that is the essence of this article. It is not about science or research. It is about self-awareness. We can expand our perception to life if we only adjust the way we look at things. We can draw from both our left and right hemispheres to create better ideas and decisions. You do not have to look at life issues the same way all the time. If we train our minds to use both sides of the brain effectively, we would be more balanced individuals and it will help us relate effectively with others.

For instance if you are the analytical type, you may overdo it sometimes. Someone makes a simple remark and you begin to think of a hundred and one meanings (positive and negative) to that simple statement- far beyond what the speaker ever conceived in their mind. This level of reasoning can lead to wrong conclusions or even depression sometimes. A better way to handle such remark would be to consider the statement both in part and as a whole. Questions like “what were they trying to tell me?” would help you handle the comment better than “what kind of tone did they use?” or “when a similar statement was used before, what was the outcome?”     

You can also be the kind of person that has lofty ideas in your head of what you want to achieve but hardly see through their actualizations due to lack of proper planning. It is not enough to have the big picture in mind and start out pursuing several ambitions without giving thoughts to the details

There are times when life may throw certain challenges at us and we get overwhelmed with one-sided thinking. It becomes ugly when you are unwilling to look at the challenge from a different angle. People may get too comfortable in certain thinking patterns and this makes it hard for them to grow psychologically. How about if we consider things from both sides of the brain?

A Better Way to think (Maturity)

Maturity in thinking is not guaranteed because one has come off age. It begins when we are able to realize ourselves, examine the things we do and judge them objectively. Some people hardly ever take the blame for anything. They feel better when they blame other people, circumstances or even God for whatever happens to them or around them. When you tell them “you are supposed to have done this”, they would find some logic to turn things around to make it look like that responsibility was never theirs or like the situation was out of their control when they could have actually controlled the situation. It is their level of thinking. Some persons are always dependent. They can barely rely on themselves. They believe they need someone at every point in their lives to feel okay.

There are some persons however that take responsibility. They can comfortably come out of their own thinking patterns and consider an issue from the other person’s perspective to make a sound judgment. They do not listen with preconceived defenses or ideas of what the speaker has in mind. These people have trained their mind to feel secure even when they venture into another person’s perspective. They are not afraid of losing an argument as long as it gives sound judgment a chance.  These are mature persons. They are able to consider issues from both sides of the brain. This is kind of personality can be achieved if we train our minds to think both ways.

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