The Pendulum Swings Right - A Major Shift is Happening Inside Our Brains
The world is now changing again, it appears. The logical and analytical skills that continue to form the basis of Western economies is slowly shifting, according to the savvy American business observer Daniel Pink in Wired (February 2005). The current "information age"-in which access to information (read: knowledge, education) is the most important economic engine-is changing into the "conceptual age," characterized by a new concern with context, patterns, and emotion. And that shift is taking place mainly in our brains. Analytical, logical, and linear thinking are done in the left side of the brain. The right side comes into play when you are engaged in creating, making connections, or expressing emotions. This provides insight into the direction that Western society and the global economy are moving: a shift from examining small parts to looking at the larger whole, from cold logic to engaged empathy, from masculine to feminine talents. In other words, from left to right. The question is, how does one go from spending all day inserting figures into spreadsheets or crack codes to begin to get more involved with telling stories to one another and connected in many other ways; solving intricate problems involving context and problems to simply survive? These right brain traits are fundamental human talents that just need a little polishing. We must begin to develop the right hemisphere of the brain. In his book, A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age (Riverhead Books, ISBN 1573223085), Daniel Pink talks about the magnitude of change happening and that it is essential for parents to develop the six essential aptitudes or "six senses" ? on which professional success and personal satisfaction increasingly will depend. Design. Story. Empathy. Symphony. Play. Meaning. The left brain isn't becoming superfluous, he notes, but it is no longer all we need to get ahead. Pink explains that the dawning Conceptual Age requires "the ability to create artistic and emotional beauty, to detect patterns and opportunities. It involves the capacity to empathize, to understand the subtleties of human interaction, to find joy in one's self and to elicit it in others, and to stretch beyond the quotidian in pursuit of purpose and meaning." Play is extremely important for humans from birth to death. Play is not meant to be just for children. It is a form of release and connection that can tap the creativity and can allow you the chance to connect with your inner child and the inner child of others. Play is a state of mind, but it is also a state of body, emotion, and spirit. Yes...it is something you do (playing games, swinging, playing "tag", playing with dolls), but it is also something you watch others do, and gain pleasure from simply watching. It is often described as a time when we feel most alive, yet it is something we take for granted and may forget to do. It can be entirely positive, or can be dramatic (such as acting out a thrilling or suspenseful activity). Play can be used in many ways to not only stimulate creativity but as a way to transform negative emotions. We are hardwired as adults to engage in play, and it is crucial to our vitality to spend time with play each day. The best way I know is to watch children and model what is one of the most basic human aptitudes, play. Play is any exercise, or series of actions, intended for amusement or diversion; a game. Kids do it naturally to find the place in this world and it helps to define meaning to those things around them. Adults crave play instinctively. There is a realization that the amusements and diversions we have today are not a new phenomenon. They have been a slow development from the beginning of time. Romans and Greeks had their theaters and circuses. England had its tennis and bear-baiting. Play, leisure, and recreation are all ideas that are common among humans. Play, leisure, and recreation are all notions of having fun. The wonderful thing about playing is that everyone is successful at it. Don't use playtime to test or stretch your workday. It is a time to feel good about yourself and each other--and to just have fun together. Perhaps, most important of all, play is fun. Years later, when we recall our life, it is the happy times spent playing with special people that we remember most fondly. Marianne St. Clair creates energy. Her creativity and vital messages have thrilled audiences for years. Corporations and organizations nationwide seek her out to motivate and energize their employees on such topics as creativity, communication, passion and fun. Marianne fuses her knowledge of creativity, wellness and her experience with coaching clients in both the corporate world as well as individuals to create presentations that make a difference. Marianne makes audiences laugh, but she also makes them think. Participants discover for themselves how to apply her messages to become better people and better employees. Marianne St. Clair , author, speaker, coach
http://www.mariannestclair.com
704-658-0353
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Owning Your Power
Owning your power, your power to be real, to be who you really are, is really about owning your freedom. Consider how your reasons for not being yourself may have been to get the love or approval of others. Then, you have given others the power to decide your way of being, and thus keeping yourself from being free. In many ways, you have been giving away your power/freedom by your ways of speaking and thinking, and being.
Creativity and Innovation Management - Good Ideas Part 2
The relative ease of i) generating good ideas and ii) lack of resources means that there are usually more good ideas available than can be successfully innovated. As a result, it is often the case that ideas must be evaluated for risk and reward in order to select those that are most likely to succeed.
Starving for Intimacy
Some are seeking love in a bottle. Others look for it on the streets and many are trying to find it in their food.
Innovation Management: Trying Out New Ideas
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.
Managing Creativity and Innovation, Part 2 of 2
Leaders, consultants and managers must be competent in at least thirteen domains to even begin effectively managing creativity and innovation. Part 2 of Managing Creativity and Innovation covers the last six of these domains.
What Dreams Will Come!
As the pioneers of aviation took to the air (not skies), in their human powered mechanical contraptions, what must have been said and thought?
Discontinuous Innovation
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.
Creativity and Innovation Management - Special People?
People often think that there is a creative type. This is a myth.
Can A Simple Idea Change Your Life?
Ideas happen all the time. And when I say an idea, I don't just mean a mere thought. An idea is more than a mental opinion and it is loftier than a sentiment. An idea is a special thought. It is a thought that gives you a rush, a sparkle, a feeling of exhilaration.
Creating Opportunity
An enterprising person is one who comes across a pile of scrap metal and sees the making of a wonderful sculpture. An enterprising person is one who drives through an old decrepit part of town and sees a new housing development. An enterprising person is one who sees opportunity in all areas of life.
Make Ideas Your (& Their) Own: Persuade Yourself and Others
Have you ever watched a TV program where the supporting actor has a grand idea only to find the lead actor immediately repeat the idea as if it were his own?
The Pendulum Swings Right - A Major Shift is Happening Inside Our Brains
The world is now changing again, it appears. The logical and analytical skills that continue to form the basis of Western economies is slowly shifting, according to the savvy American business observer Daniel Pink in Wired (February 2005). The current "information age"-in which access to information (read: knowledge, education) is the most important economic engine-is changing into the "conceptual age," characterized by a new concern with context, patterns, and emotion. And that shift is taking place mainly in our brains.
Intuition Power In Three Steps
Have you ever used your intuition to solve problems? Can you trust your intuition? Can you improve it?
Creativity Management ? When To Add Talent
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.
Business Innovation ? Real Self versus the Trained Self
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.
Innovation and Competitive Advantage
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.
A New Pair of Shoes
Do the New
How to Turn Nothing Into Something
Excerpted from the Jim Rohn Weekend Seminar-Excelling in the New Millennium)
Business Innovation ? Confidence through Competence
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.
Create An Idea Journal
When I first heard Jim Rohn talk about the importance of keeping an idea journal I was immediately captivated. So what is it you ask?...
|