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5.09.2008

Doing the right thing

You may already know the distinction between "doing the thing right" and "doing the right thing". We get things done right with the application of the right method, technique or procedure. It usually take practice to get it right. We discover how we are messing it up, assuming incorrectly or skipping a step in the process of trying to get it right. Doing things right can be done by our left brains' lines of reasoning.

Our left brain, linear thinking cannot come up with the right thing to do. There are too many considerations, consequences and complications involved in the choice. There's no way to know the right proportion of something, right balance between two things, right sequence for a series of steps, right timing for the first move and right combination of efforts to achieve the desired repercussions. If we consider the "butterfly effect" from chaos theory, everything everywhere is implicated in our choice of what, how and when to do something. It's not reasonable or limited in scope.

Doing the right thing is a hidden talent for most of us. It would dawn on our minds from the collective unconscious accessed by our right brains. It takes not knowing so as to be open to receiving inspirations. It involves enough humility to go against our logical reasoning, past experiences and fear-based premises. The right thing to do often goes out on a limb, defies consensual expectations and challenges our own preconceptions.

When we've cultivated other hidden talents, we are much more amenable the challenges of doing the right thing. We've become accustomed to the use of our right brains. We've got experience with getting inspirations from the collective unconscious. We're familiar with "doing our own thing" in spite of what others think. We're hooked on the inner satisfactions of following our inner guidance.

Imagine if everyone had cultivated their talent for doing the right thing. Every problem we've caused ourselves would get resolved. Every trouble-spot on the planet would be supplied with the right solutions. Every pending environmental crisis would be dissipated and future ones prevented. The issues we blog about to get more attention paid particular problem areas would be widely recognized and handled superbly.

2 comments:

  1. Really interesting thought provker Tom. I think most organisations don't recognise that they need to create an environment that lets people tap their hidden talents.

    If you are left handed does it mean that your brain sides are reversed....?

    Chris
    http://learn2develop.blogspot.com

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  2. Thanks Chris
    I agree with you that most organisations are more focused on controlling deviance, being productive via conformity and watching their metrics fluctuate. Those articles on talent issues your last blog post linked to -- dwelled on talent as a tangible, not something hidden to cultivate. Most of the article, however did have a sense to create a supportive environment, mostly to attract talented people and deter the turnover of the talent they had on board.

    Happily there's no correlation between handedness and brain function - I'm right handed and right brain dominant :-)

    Tom

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