Making up our minds

Half of the neocortex takes action superbly. You'll find it on the left side of your skull animating the right side of your body. This half focuses on what needs to be done regardless of it getting labeled as closed minded, over-zealous or obsessed. It processes information in a linear fashion which proves to be very effective for getting things done in a prescribed sequence -- free of distractions and discouragement. The way this half thinks is a one track mind that gets where it's going if at all possible.

The other half of our neocortex is great for deciding what action to take, what timing will work best, what changes to make in the sequence and how to have an intended effect on the situation. It is located on the right side of our craniums animating the left side of our bodies. This half takes in a panorama of possibilities and naturally considers long term consequences. It processes information in a non-linear fashion which works superbly for combining approaches, balancing opposing concerns, making tradeoffs and formulating creative alternatives. The way this half thinks is intuitive, inspired and imaginative.

The left half of the neocortex sucks at making decisions. It cannot get enough data while ignoring all signs of information overload. It has to reach a conclusion prematurely, short-sightedly and mistakenly because it's functioning linearly. It can only take things literally, as if there's no two ways about it and the decision depends on the objective facts. Thus it cannot ponder what-if questions, unforeseen possibilities or imaginative scenarios. It always comes to the same conclusion as before, which is a good thing when taking reliable actions, but ineffective when making innovative decisions. If there's too many considerations, the left half goes into a tail spin in isolation and cannot make up its mind.

We can tell which half of the neocortex we're using to make a decision by the emotional state of the limbic system. If we're happy and feeling confident, our right brains are doing what they're good at. If we're agitated, nervous and frustrated, we're poised to make bad decisions with the half designed for taking action.

When our minds are trying to make complex decisions with linear thinking, we need to call a time out to get the right half of the neocortex engaged. Closing our eyes disrupts relentless thinking. Listening to music, observing our surroundings or going for a walk -- each produce the desired effect of getting the right half into the act.

When we make a great decision, we won't know we've done that until we see how everything turns out in the end. We'll have an inkling that it's the right thing to do at the time because of how we are feeling abut the decision. We cannot explain how we made up our minds without sounding like we're spreading the B.S. pretty thick. We just know this is the right thing to do. We have a sixth sense about this. We know intuitively that it will work out for the best. We've used our right half to make up our mind so our left half can take action accordingly. All is well inside our craniums.