Right brain: how does it affect your life

Last week we talked about LEFT BRAINS, this week we focus on the right brains.

Right brainers are the brainstormers, the idea guys of the world. They are creative, but you knew that already, and they think outside of the box. They don't let rules get in their way of being creative.

They love challenges. They want to be challenged and use those creative juices to come up with a plan. But they bore easily. As soon as something becomes predictable or if they've mastered something, they lose interest when the challenge has been conquered.
This make them prone to having many unfinished projects, even those they like and enjoy. They will start out with gusto and steamroller into a new project or idea, but they start losing interest along the way and sometimes never finish.

Right brain children need a lot of encouragement to finish what they started. Read through the whole book, finish the project, finish assignments soon (discourage procrastination...), and finish an activity. It happens very easily for them to start with tennis and two weeks later refuse to go to lessons. The have to finish the year or season with sports and arts that they started to understand what it means to push through to the finish, even when it's not fun.

Right brain children don't enjoy school. School is full of structure and routine and they hate that. They want freedom, friends and challenges. They like school for their friends, sports and activities, not the learning. They do like subjects like art and music where they can put that right brain to good use and they will enjoy certain subjects that interest them, where they can learn something exciting.
But for the most part they are not excited about school

When right brainers stress, their left brains are compromised, which explains why they can perform up to 25% under their true potential due to stress in exams. They frequently have "blanks" in exams, seeing the typography of exact page with the information they need (where the headers, content and pictures are), but unable to recall any words or actual information.

In an ideal world the right brainers would come up with exciting ideas and start off projects and then hand them over to the left brainers who are great at structuring things, making it work and finishing projects.

I remind you that this is just a taste of what a Genetic Brain Profile will tell you. Even if you know all of your dominant modalities, it's the interaction between them that makes things interesting. And don't think that an online left vs right brain test will be accurate - for some it is, others will get mixed results depending on the test they take.

I will gladly answer any questions you have and if you are curious about your Genetic Brain Profile, give me a shout out and I will happily assess yours (and/or your children's).

If you've missed my previous posts on the left handed and right handed traits, be sure to visit those posts for more insightful information!

Left brain: how does it affect your life?

The Genetic Brain Profile consists of testing a few dominant body parts or modalities, the centre of which is the brain hemisphere. We all know about left brain versus right brain, but the Genetic Brain Profile goes much deeper than that.
Any combination of dominant modalities are possible, so don't think if you are right handed your are necessarily right footed as well. And remember: you need both sides of your brain to function, you won't just use one side - one side is just more dominant than the other.

Let's look at the left brain today.

Left brainers are the organised, logical bunch in our society. They like structure and routine and they find comfort in knowing exactly what the day will bring. Actually when things are unpredictable or if they are uncertain of something, they feel insecure and stressed.

Left brain children are notorious for asking the same questions over and over.
"Mom, what time is dinner?"
"Mom, what are we having for dinner?"
"Mom, what time will you pick me up from school?"
"Dad, what time will you be home?"
"Who will be at the party?"
These can drive a parent nuts, especially when the same question is repeated multiple times. "I already told you!"
It's vital to understand that these kids don't ask just to bug you. They actually want to know that the status quo hasn't changed in the mean time. They don't want to be surprised, they want to be prepared.

This is true of adults as well, although they don't ask so many questions. They still want to know what will happen, where, when, how and who is involved. Knowing gives them a sense of security.

Left brainers are not keen on change. If the plans have changed and they weren't notified, they become upset and confused. They prefer to know about a change (meeting schedule, moving house, new school, etc.) in advance so they can prepare for that change and get used to the idea before it happens. The bigger the change, the more advance warning they need.

When left brainers stress their right brains aren't working so well, which explains why left brain kids have trouble with writing essays or answer essay questions, especially under pressure. They don't usually have trouble recalling information, but they may struggle to implement it creatively.

This is just a taste of what a Genetic Brain Profile will tell you. Even if you know all of your dominant modalities, it's the interaction between them that makes things interesting. And don't think that an online left vs right brain test will be accurate - for some it is, others will get mixed results depending on the test they take.

I will gladly answer any questions you have and if you are curious about your Genetic Brain Profile, give me a shout out and I will happily assess yours (and/or your children's).

If you've missed my previous posts on the left handed and right handed traits, be sure to visit those posts for more insightful information!
UPDATE: Here is the link to the RIGHT BRAIN as well.

What does being left handed say about you?

Missed my post on being right handed? Check it out!

Approximately 10% of people are left handed, which means that they prefer to do tasks with the left hand, like writing, drawing, eating, gesturing, etc. This dominance says more about you than just which hand you prefer to hold your pen.

Left handed people do tasks in a very unpredictable way. They don't stick to the norm. This is why we call the left hand the adaptable hand. The left hand is controlled by the right brain and is therefore creative in tasks.

It is not uncommon for left handed children to write in mirror when they first go to school. They might also start writing in the middle of the page and is often confused as to why they should start in the left hand corner.

Left handed people do things the way that feels right in the moment. They will probably do it differently next time.

They are also known as natural communicators - they talk before they think. The average left hander loves to talk and will talk about anything to anyone who's willing to listen.
Have you noticed how many left handed actors there are on television? They love to talk and now they're being paid to do just that!

Left handed people usually struggle with hand technique. They have trouble holding pens, scissors, tennis rackets, just about any tool. This doesn't mean that they can't do it, they just need a little more persistence until they get it.
Many people will argue that this is because tools are made for right handed people and that's a fair point. People don't generally think that it will be different for a left handed person to hold a pair of scissors, but scissors are really designed for a dominant hand. Thankfully many tools, especially school equipment, are now made for left handers as well, so don't let your child struggle with right handed scissors, go buy the leftie scissors and help them out!
Check out www.writeleft.co.za (This is not an affiliate link)

I trust that you know this, but just in case there's someone out there who doesn't, don't ever try to force your left handed child (or student) to be right handed. It's not fair and it will give the message that the child is not good enough just the way he/she is. Just because they are the minority doesn't make it wrong.

See you next week for the left brain! (It's much more interesting than the hands, so don't miss out!)

UPDATE: Here are the links to the LEFT BRAIN and the RIGHT BRAIN as well.

What does being right handed say about you?

Approximately 90% of people on earth is right handed. This means that they prefer to do most tasks with their right hand, such as writing. But that hand dominance says more about you than just which hand you hold your pen with.

The right hand is known as the structured hand. It is controlled by the left brain, therefore it has structured, logical qualities.

You prefer doing tasks in the same way every time. Think about a task like washing the dishes. What is your step 1, step 2, step 3? Do you always follow this pattern?
Right handed people will always perform tasks in the same way, unless they find a better way to do it.

Right handed people have good hand technique and quickly learns the correct way of handling an instrument, be it a tennis racket, a paint brush or a steering wheel.

Lastly, right handed people tend to have annoying little habits, like clicking a pen, tapping a foot or brushing hair out of the face.

Next week we'll look at left handed people, CLICK HERE to read about it!

UPDATE: Here are the links to the LEFT BRAIN and the RIGHT BRAIN as well.

In the News: The Importance of Class Placement

This week I have been quoted in the Bloemfontein Courant about where children should sit in class. Since schools reopened yesterday for the new year, this is some food for thought for all our parents and teachers.

You can read the online version HERE on Bloemfontein Courant's Website.


Here is the translation:

Important where child sits in class

by Mark Steenbok

With the schools reopening on Wednesday it may be a good idea to review some factors that influence learning, like where your child sits in class.

This is according to Luise Spangenberg of Edu-Profile. She assesses children and adults through genetic brain profiling. Spangenberg says that where your child sits in class can play a big roll in their academic performance.
"I had a grade one student whose teacher was convinced he had ADD (attention deficit disorder) and needed medication. After the consultation I advised that he be moved to a different place in class, since there was no indications in his profile of ADD or ADHD. A week later the teacher apologised to the mother and reported that the child showed no symptoms of ADD anymore and was a bright student."

According to Luise children should sit with their dominant ear facing the teacher so that they can physically hear better and pay better attention. They should sit where there is fewest distractions.
She also says that children who move more by nature doesn't necessarily have ADHD and they should sit at the back of the class where they won't distract other students.

"It is also of value for these children to sit on a Pilates ball, rather than a chair. Parents can enforce this at home during homework and study times, since schools generally doesn't allow this. In class they can play with a stress ball or small item. This will help them pay better attention," says Spangenberg.

Don't let your child blindly choose a chair this year. Choose right and prepare for a good academic year.