Are you left or right brained?

Are you left or right brained? Have you ever been asked that question or have you ever been offered one of the many online questionnaires which guarantee to tell you whether you are left or right brained. The concept that people are either left or right brained has been pushed in the personal development, personal growth and self-help fields for many years now. The idea being that if you know whether you are left or right brained you can make the best decisions for you in a number of key areas e.g. career. So, if you have ever wondered whether you are left or right brained, the answer is quite simple – you’re neither. The truth is that the left or right brained concept is a pile of nonsense, a myth which has been pushed for far too long.

What is left or right brained?

The left or right brained concept suggests that different functions are located exclusively in either the left or right hemisphere of the brain e.g. language is believed to be located in the left hemisphere. We are told that creative tasks are located in the left-hemisphere and rational tasks are located in the right hemisphere. Therefore, people who excel at creative tasks are said to be left brained and those who excel at analytical or rational tasks are said to be right brained. In many cases we are told that our brains are wired for us to be either creative or analytical i.e. one side of our brain is more developed than the other. Not only is there no evidence to back this up but there is evidence to show that our brains work best when both hemispheres work together to perform important function e.g. in language or math.

Is the left or right brained concept a problem?

The left or right brained concept can be a problem. In most cases people see it as having a preference for creative or analytical tasks. This in itself is not a major issue but it does become a problem when people believe that they are wired to be good at only one i.e. creative or analytical. Take the following 2 examples:

1. It can inhibit education

Sadly the left or right brained concept is pushed in many schools. With children being so adept with the internet, they have access to online questionnaires. If a child takes a questionnaire, they may see little point in working hard to develop their abilities in the area which scores poorest. They may believe that they are naturally weak in this area and improving it is beyond their control. This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because if you don’t work on an area of your life, it is not going to improve.

 2. It can inhibit risk-taking

To succeed in life, you need to perform both creative and analytical tasks. Take entrepreneurship as an example, you need to be able to keep your financial records and create new products or services. If you truly believe that you do not have the ability to perform well in one of these areas, you may be deterred from taking the risk of starting your own business. Risk is a fundamental part of life and to take a risk, you must have confidence in yourself.

You want to be the best that you can be, forget the idea that you may be left or right brained. You may have a preference for analytical or creative tasks; that is natural. But, with commitment and hard work you can be good at just about anything. So, rather than worrying about what way your brain is wired; identify where you want  to get to in life,  identify the skills which you need to improve and work hard to improve them. You will find that you get better results and more confidence this way. Image credit: Geoffrey Whiteway