Last Saturday was a very special day, I went to plant saplings, attended a meetup and finished my backlogs. I even took time to renew the 3As of Awesome (As per a ted talk)
The three As of awesome are
- Attitude – to take steps towards facing challenges in a positive way
- Awareness – Have a mindset like everything you see is for the first time.
- Authenticity – Being who you are
My day started with me getting up early (Shocking!!), My dad and me went to a sapling plantation drive on the outskirts of the city. We spent an hour there and my dad dropped me off to the meetup. I was honestly very tired. I needed a bath and a heavy breakfast. I chose to attend because I always learn something. The meetup I attend is a weekly gathering of a group named Happy Neurons. The idea of the group is to stimulate the mind by small fun activities. Today’s activity was to come up with a reason why the chicken crossed the road.
I went into the room and mumbled a meek hello to everybody. The group was split into teams and we each were supposed to present our idea explaining why did the chicken cross the road. My team luckily was able to present a funny concept by amalgamating all our ideas. Usually I am the youngest in the group but today it was a little girl. She dazzled us with her story and her team was rated the best. To be very honest, all teams had great stories but it’s the the way she presented that won our hearts. I honestly assure you that I am not biased by her cute looks 😛
When she stood up to present, we all were stunned because we expected the adults in her team to speak. She seemed to be reciting a story when she spoke and we were totally captivated to listen. She did not stammer and boldly maintained eye contact with everybody. I was impressed because I delayed my turn as I was shy and apprehensive. When I spoke, I felt like I was reading a speech. Even the funny parts did not seem very spontaneous. The organizer told us that the main difference between the girl’s talk and ours were in the sides of the brain we used to communicate. We adults used our analytical(left) side while she used the right. Our presentations seemed colorless and rehearsed in comparison to the child. I understood that while communicating, It is much more effective to communicate with our creative side.
The goal of any conversation is to communicate a logical point. The impression can be augment by using the right brain
(a+b)2 = a2 + b2 + 2ab
The illustration above paints a clearer picture than the equation. We are trained to remember pictures better because the right brain is more powerful.
As kids we are trained to be awesome. We want to be special, we are genuine and open to new experiences. While growing up I have seen things like insecurity, self consciousness competition and dogma ruin the kid in me. As a kid, I believed in magic, I secretly hoped to get my letter from Hogwarts (I even packed my bags one night). I looked forward to making new friends and learning new games on a daily basis. My friends and me played on the streets no matter how many people complained against it. Now! I see myself waiting for the weekends, avoiding interactions and accepting others opinions. Clearly because I have let my left brain get more dominant. I resolve to reasoning than go with doubt because that’s the sane thing to do
Is it surprising that the richest people in the world are college dropouts? Maybe a small part of them is not tainted by education to use the left brain. This may have given them the additional edge to use their right brain. Education and profession teaches us how to use our left brain but we make that an excuse not to use our right brain. Growing up has taught me to take new responsibilities, get more disciplined but it never stopped me from being a kid. I am the culprit here. I chose to ignore my right brain because of I felt it was the adult or the educated way to approach problems. This small experience has motivated me to use my right brain more and work towards being Awesome.
Thanks to a kid half my age
(3As of Awesome) http://www.ted.com/talks/neil_pasricha_the_3_a_s_of_awesome.html
(Sapling plantation drive) https://www.facebook.com/pages/SAVE-TREES/237779238788
(Meetup I go to) http://www.meetup.com
The Munday Diaries 
I am a little surprised by the harsh judgement against the analytical powerhouse (the lft part of the brain) that you have meted out here! Though the spark added by creativity is something we cannot do without, for new ideas, the logical thinking is what develops the spark into flame!! So, both are equally important…
Agreed! Like both hands needed to clap 🙂