Have you ever wondered why some choices are hard to make? Others are, as clear as fresh running water from a river. At times it feels as if the brain prefers confusion rather than certainty.
What about when you want to begin something new? There are several reasons to go ahead and countless excuses not to start at all. Leaving us frustrated by indecision.
Do you know how your brain works? Have you ever stopped to listen? To find out what goes on in there?
I have two main characters residing in my mind. Both generally hold opposing views. One representing the right part of the brain. The emotional side. I call her ‘The Girl’.
‘The Professor’ who takes up the left hemisphere forming the logical side. The rationale area of the mind is not in charge. Although it does take control when the passionate side gets out of hand.
Two completely different personalities talking, debating, arguing and on the rare occasion working together.
Once I identified these decision makers, my life became a little easier to navigate.
Permission was granted to use the above illustration from The Brain Made Simple.
Who chooses what to wear?
‘The Girl’ likes to dress in vibrant of colors, her creative side comes into play. Enjoying matching shoes and clutch bags. She would spend a fortune on make-up if that ‘Professor’ guy would relax a little on the purse strings.
‘The Professor’ gets no say in what’s worn. He is at home wearing jeans, a T-shirt and a business jacket. How simple the wardrobe would be if only that ‘Girl’ wasn’t so fancy.
Cash control.
Money matters are ‘The Professor’s’ area of expertise. He won’t allow ‘The Girl’ any decision making power when it comes to spending. She would go on shopping sprees purchasing shiny things and exotic foods. Her favorite past time.
Budget days are a trying experience for ‘The Professor’. She is never far away. Demanding to know what her portion of the budget is for the week. Her voice echo’s throughout the hallways of the brain.
‘The Professor’ is all too familiar with the ‘The Girl’s’ sticky nose, loud voice and irritating presence.
‘The Professor’ often wonders if ‘The Girl’ realizes she looks over his shoulder each week. Ensuring she gets her cut of the cash.
He would put aside money for her, if only to shut her up.
One lives the other collects.
‘The Professor’ is considered a stiff by the other side. He is a no nonsense character and guides ‘The Girl’ by the hand into acceptable life experiences.
‘The Girl’ is passionate, mixed with a reckless abandonment and a child-like imagination. ‘The Professor’ embraces these traits. If only to observe and collect statistics rather than for entertainment purposes. He likes to experiment, record outcomes and identify patterns in behavior.
‘The Professor’ does appreciate her enthusiasm for life. Allowing her all the human interactions and enjoyment she desires.
The only time he takes control is when she becomes over indulgent. Eating too much and binge drinking are the starting points. There’s a long list of habits she would consume if he was not overseeing each action.
Pulling her up before she spins into chaos to avoid a potential crash. Over the years she has slowed down a little. Although she still requires steady guidance at times.
Dietary decisions.
‘The Girl’ is a junk food addict. She loves donuts, pizza, cake, chocolate, cookies and sugar. ‘The Professor’ prefers a stable diet. The brain is in regular conflict, addressing this issue. ‘The Professor’ refuses to back down. Fresh fruit and vegetables are a must.
The drama of moving to a vegetarian diet was years of continued debate. For several decades these two have been a logger heads over this matter. A firm decision was made only six months ago that meat was no longer an option. ‘The Girl’ could be seen with her hands on her hips. Yelling that steak, eggs and chips should never be taken off the menu.
Although she knew ‘The Professor’ had made up his part of the mind. She quickly negotiated on the carbs. Wanting extra rice, potatoes and bread. ‘The Professor’ duly noted her requests. Wondering how he was going to get around this new problem.
‘The Professor’ would love ‘The Girl’ to sign a contract confirming their agreement. Presenting this signed document as back up, when she attempts to renege on any of the food deal.
He puts that to the back of the mind. He knows well enough to joke about something like this. To put it into action, would create an explosive scene in the brain.
Quiet time is a must.
‘The Professor’ demands regular commitment to meditation. This is an area where ‘The Girl’ constantly attempts to talk her way out of it. ‘The Professor’ will never hear of this. There’s always time throughout the day to sit and breathe.
First and foremost it stabilized that ‘Girl’ far better than anything else. Gives her balance. “Who needs it when we are happy?” A comment regularly heard through the walls of the brain.
‘The Girl’ is easily irritated when ‘The Professor’, turns into a nag. She simmers down and meditates to avoid the lectures on the benefits of balance.
‘The Professor’ dare not say in his jovial voice, “I told you so”. That would instantly evaporate a good mood created by their quiet time. ‘The Girl’ doesn’t like reminders from the man with all the rules.
The human divide.
Other humans. ‘The Girl’ loves them in all their glory. Appreciates all the good and bad each person has to offer. She’s curious, nosey and every now and again intrusive. She simply cannot help herself. Individuals, society and cultures are her passion.
‘The Professor’ doesn’t care too much for people. He is an expert in behavior and reading body language. He bores easy over human drama. Preferring projects of observation rather than interaction and activity.
If anyone was to attempt to dampen ‘The Girl’s’ spirit, ‘The Professor’ steps in. ‘The Girl’ may be a lot of things but it is only ‘The Professor’ who gets to pull her into line, nobody else.
‘The Professor’ is generally calm, calculated and controlled. Those who attempt to mess with ‘The Girl’ do find themselves at the hard end of ‘The Professor’. Who firmly takes control of any relationship causing upheavals.
Sharp tongued and well versed in truth telling. The voice of reason has no troubles in showing others he was in the background all along. It isn’t vital he assert himself until necessary.
‘The Girl’ is fondly aware of ‘The Professor’s’ protective nature over her. In these times she takes a back seat.
Brain hemispheres. The dynamic duo.
This odd couple make a good team. ‘The Girl’ would be lost without that annoying guy. And ‘The Professor’ would not have nearly as much data without her.
Where ‘The Professor’ lacks human tolerance, ‘The Girl’ has more than enough for the both of them. ‘The Girl’ does not weigh up consequence and will leap at every opportunity possible.
‘The Professor’ will pull her up when he calculates unpleasant outcomes. She listens but not without a snotty attitude to go with it.
Both sides have strengths and limitations. Accommodating one another. Life is so much easier when one understands their brain and how it operates.
Are you well acquainted with how your brain operates?
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Very beautiful and inspiring post. I sincerely believe the brain is the most active part of our body and if we allow our brain to work for us then we can do magic and make the impossible possible. I love all your post because there are almost mind blowing and captivating and this one has captured my heart. Keep up with the good work.
Hey Austine,
I agree with you Austine, the brain is the most active part of the body. Its an amazing muscle. When worked and exercised correctly it will deliver for us time and time again.
Glad your enjoying the posts I’m putting out. Thanks for the feedback.
Rachel.
Rachel, am I right in saying that the “professor” is generally the “male” part of our society? :)) no gender bias here but just something I read somewhere that man thinks from the left side of his brain while the women from the right.
Great article and loved the essence that both parts should work with each other and in harmony to produce desired results. A combination of both is the recipe of great life 🙂 Have a nice Sunday ahead.
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Hey Ahmad,
I’m not sure where the picture of the professor in my mind came from. However I have always thought of the tough decisions I make on a business level, they come with no emotion, so to me they seem more like a male decision.
Both parts of the brain do work in harmony with each other, however it won’t always be the case. Not agreeing and running in contention with one another, allows us to find what is priority. Say for instance you want to bake a cake. ‘The Professor’ wants to follow all the rules to ensure the cake is a success, yet ‘The Girl’wants to add food dye to the icing (take a chance) and see if it works. Both sides have valid reasons for what they want to do. Do you only want to stay safe and have a great cake. Can you make this cake the way ‘The Professor’ wants and try another one down the track with ‘The Girls’ variations.
Hope that makes sense.
Rachel.
Thanks for a very interesting post, I think I have more of the ‘The Professor’ than ‘The Girl’ in me. Don’t know if that’s good or bad…
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Hey Dave,
Some of us are use more of ‘The Professor’ than ‘The Girl’. Just remember when you do get ‘The Girl’ side wanting attention, listen for a while, you may collect some ideas you had not thought of while going about your day with ‘The Professor’ cap on. Both sides are useful.
Rachel.
Hi, Rachel
Now I understand why human being is so complication. There are tug of war between two parts of my brain. Each hemisphere has its own limitation and function. Luckily they are a good team i.e. they work together. I can’t imagine what will happen to me when they don’t communicate with each other.
Thanks for the detail analytical report of the brain.
Stella Chiu
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Hey Stella,
The tug of war is right Stella. Have you ever noticed when you make a decision you feel comfortable with it and then all of a sudden the confidence you had for the decision is now nagging doubt. That’s the two sides at war. We have to get better at recognizing what side gets to take charge. ‘The Girl’ gets to exercise all decisions over art and writing, while ‘The Professor’ makes all the financial decisions. They certainly do back each other up, but we also know that they can tear us apart.
Rachel.
Oh wow Rachel,
I often knew I was right brained in my life because I love creativity and my feminine side, but some of those left brain things were part of my everyday too. I don’t listen much to the left brain as it can be too analytical. I listen more to my emotional brain in my solar plexus to be quite honest.
I love this post…..wow you have done such an amazing job on it….so clever and with so much detail. I reckon you could run a fab workshop on this as I am sure there are lot of people who would want to get in touch with those parts of their brains. I love your humour in it, so fun. Well at least I saw there was humour from my perspective.-Just chucking that in, in case it wasn’t meant to be funny!
Hope you are resting well and look forward to your return. I think I am the child with my right brain and and adult with my left…..hahahha-Jennifer
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Hey Jennifer,
Its great that you use your creative side, it loves to be worked and played with. It is often the side that is left ignored because we follow so many social norms. The analytical side is wonderful for discipline and remembering experience (so much more I might add). It has a way of getting learned experience (all your living years of learning and experiences) and bounds them into analytics for both life and the creative side. When both these sides work together magic can happen. Although as you are already aware we can sometimes struggle with both sides coming together in unison.
Stick with what you comprehend as your emotions expressed through your solar plexus, that is your internal voice and its wonderful you trust and listen to it.
Rachel.
one of the hardest problems to do for me atm is stay quite and actually meditate for a bit longer 1 minute, but still find it help even if its 1 minute
Hey Louis,
Meditation at the beginning can feel as though it is a waste of time. When my mind wonders and I am conscious of it, I go back to concentrating on the breathing. I have written two posts on meditation, one is called ‘Meditation is not for me’ and ‘Vipassana Meditation – There is no escaping yourself’. Let me know if these help, if not we can talk further.
Rachel.
Hi Rachel
You sure know how to take a complex subject and make it fun. It was great to read how our right and left brain interact with each other.
We can all relate to the professor, the one that likes to follow the rules and hold on to structure. Who can forget the Girl who loves to express herself with creativity and sometimes defile logic.
It great and somethings odd to know that these two can work together and makes us sane.
Thanks for sharing this awesome post. Take Care
Hey Ikecki,
Once we become well acquainted with the minds chatter we are able to use it to its fullest capacity. Use the positives and slowly pull apart the negatives. We have to listen closely. The talk that gives us reasons not to push forward or to do something that’s not be in our best interest is there from a very early age. It repeats itself.
Knowing when to the use the logical side and when to use the creative side comes with practice.
I agree Ikechi, knowing these two opposing sides work together is a comfort. Say for instance when you are on a diet and ‘The Girl’ wants chocolate you know you have to let ‘The Professor’ take charge to stay on track. When you want to be creative you have to let both run wild but towards the end let ‘The Girl’ have the final say.
Rachel.
Hi Rachel,
You really broke down the brain functions into something that can be easily understood. Most people would find it hard to follow but your labels make it easy to understand.
Isn’t it funny how the opposites and balance each other out like that? I guess you need the ying and yang in the end. Too much of one side would tilt the scales.
~Lea
Hey Lea,
Scientists still find the brain a mystery, no wonder we mere humans struggle with understanding it.
I agree Lea, our opposites do balance each other out, when we become aware of the chatter that goes on inside our brain. Its like starting something new. We know we are going to feel a certain amount of excitement and enthusiasm then the chatter turns to all that could go wrong. If we recognise that this will happen when we make many of our decisions we can work with the positives and understand the negatives then work out ways to get around them or silence them.
Rachel.
Hi Rachel!
I truly enjoyed your post. The title already drew me in. I think I’m also having a girl and the professor living in me. And their debates are quite similar to yours 😉
Thanks for an entertaining and educating post!
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Hey Ilka,
Glad you enjoyed the post. It was a fun post to play with. I think most of us have similar mind debates. The easiest one is when thinking about eating better. We start thinking about what we cut out of our diet to improve. We may do this for a couple of days and do it well, then a nagging thought comes into our mind that we want chips or chocolate and that thought takes over. We either let it take hold or hold on strong and remain disciplined.
On a creative front we may have several ideas on the one subject and we have to prioritize what we find important. If we exercise an analytical mind we soon become familiar with both parts of the brain and let the side that serves us best on this particular subject take control.
Thanks for your comments.
Rachel.
wow, truly extraordinary work of the brain because it determines our minds to be good or bad, I sting love to read your article, very helpful.
Hey Agan,
We have internal fights going on in the mind. Some parts of us want to be naughty and lazy. While the more disciplined part expects more from ourselves. Thank goodness I say.
Rachel.
Truly enjoyed this post.
Hey Byrone,
Thanks for your feedback. Glad you enjoyed the post.
Rachel.
I think I use my left side of my brain. I think all have that professor and the girl in Themselves and the constant debate going on. Anyways I enjoyed reading this article.
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Hey Priyanka
We are always going to make decisions and then have another voice yelling out what could go wrong or why not to do it. We then have feelings of exhilaration, excitement, fear and doubt. We all have a brain crew.
Glad you enjoyed the article.
Rachel.
This is so informative post. Great I sincerely believe the brain is the most active part of our body and if we allow our brain to work for us then we can do magic and make the impossible possible.
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Hey Offroadfashion,
I could not agree with you more, our mind is the most active part of our bodies. Knowing ourselves, how we operate, why we can have positive thoughts on one subject and within seconds we can doubt ourselves about the same subject matter is important. That way we are able to hush what is not logical or what does not serve us properly. And that’s how we make changes in our lives and others and that magic you talk about happens.
Rachel.
Loved this post . I think everyone can relate to this .
Hey Rishabh,
It was a fun post to write. Thanks for your comments.
Rachel.