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

---

Innovation Management ? predicting winners

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly,... Read More

What to Do When You Are Chased by a Snake

I lived for several years on the Japanese island of Okinawa. It is a tropical island setting with a wealth of beauty and lots of things to do. We lived on the side... Read More

Business Innovation ? Good Thinking

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

A Time for Rebellion!

When is it right for you to rebel against the negative powers working against you? When are so weighed down by someone or something that it is absolutely justified for you to strike... Read More

Improve Your Small Talk - Gain Big Dividends!

Do you hate to make small talk? If so, you have lots of company.You may find small talk irritating, predictable, mind-numbingly boring.Yet, learning to play the small talk game can have lots of... Read More

All Fortunes Begin With an Idea!

A new idea is merely the combination of two or more old ideas. The creation of a new idea is the critical first step in establishing any business.People who dream of setting up... Read More

Business Innovation ? the Value of Being Obvious

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

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... Read More

Facing a Resource Crunch? Read On!

Recently I read an excerpt from a new business innovation book wherein the author went to great lengths to instill the need to provide sufficient resources for every innovation effort, without which the... Read More

Life ? The Teacher

You've probably heard the phrase "repetition is the mother of learning" well apparently it's also the mother of teaching. Often it seems, Life ? The Teacher uses the tool of repetition to imprint... Read More

Business Innovation ? the Value of Decision Makers

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

Prevention is Better Than Cure... Says Who?

You've likely heard this before... "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."Says who? I mean come on. If prevention was so popular why would we see so many "cures" being... Read More

How To Benefit from The Power of New Innovations in the Year 2005

How many times have you heard the phrase "knowledge is power"? Probably enough for you to really wonder if you're actually doing something useful with your life, isn't that correct?So you want to... Read More

Why Do We Suppress Higher Thought?

Throughout History we have imprisoned our brightest stars and thinkers. In modern periods we force them into works of fiction and disallow those Thoughts, which make us question our perceived or created realities... Read More

Harness the Power of Skill Sets and Mindsets

When you have a problem, sometimes you need a new skill or skill set to deal with it. That was an epiphany generated from listening to a speaker the other day. Everything seemed... Read More

Become an Idea Collector

Have you ever gotten a really great idea ? one that you knew would solve a problem, but when you went to apply it, you couldn't remember the idea? Have you ever read... Read More

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.There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly,... Read More

Innovation

Innovation, in a business context, is generally thought of as the product or application of creativity. Peter F. Drucker suggests that innovation "is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship."Mr. Drucker further suggests that there... Read More

What is NLP?

NLP Explained.....NLP is the study of how people organise their thinking, feeling, language and behaviour to produce the results they do. The co-creators' of NLP, John Grinder & Richard Bandler had an insatiable... Read More

Cumulative Gains in Innovation

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

Creativity and Innovation Management - Teach, Coach, Learn

Coaching, training or learning about creativity and innovation involves mastery of at least 12 domains.These include:a) Creativity and Innovation differences and definitions.Often used interchangeably, they ought to be considered separate and distinct. Creativity... Read More

Discontinuous Innovation

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

Creativity and Innovation Management ? Decision Makers

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

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... Read More

Business Innovation ? Masks and Trance

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

Is Mans Next Step Like A Can of Potted Meat?

Is it the dawning of the Age of Aquarius? For years, predictions have indicated that humanity is readying itself for a golden age, a so called new age that is right around the... Read More

Fire Evacuation Drill with a Difference

I had been given the task to organize a fire evacuation drill specifically for only a certain area in a building.As ridiculous as it may seem, there was a very good reason for... Read More

Business Innovation ? Radical and Disruptive Innovation

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

Putting Your Ideas Into Action

Ideas are everywhere. Some are small and seemingly insignificant. Others are big giant ideas with the chance to change large portions of our lives. Each idea that we encounter, whether we create the... Read More