Feeling Cerebral Today Are We?

I speak from the cerebral cortex today, and encourage you to understand the working parts of the brain and how you use them. I have always labeled myself an emotional guy but I don’t really use these smarts as my primary resource for decision making. I’ve been told to be a very cerebral thinker. I engage my reasoning and critical thinking areas of the brain first and foremost, it is my go-to for making choices. This calculated risk analysis is an approach to life that leaves one with far too much time spent in one’s head for decision making. At first you think to yourself, “well this just means I’m brilliantly gifted with high IQ, and I have more brain power to use for decision making”! Here is the problem with that thought, it’s ignorant and wrong (ignorance is lack of knowledge, not bliss).

If we are said to be emotional, physical, and spiritual beings I’m really only gathering my strength from one leg of the stool. We all know what happens when one of the these three legs of the stool is longer or shorter than the other two, the stool wobbles, and sometimes fall over. It’s the whole notion of running through life with the blinders on. If I am oblivious to other guiding forces like my emotional, spiritual and social intelligence how can I consistently make the best decisions in life? The short answer is, you can’t! Although it is beneficial to have this cerebral strength, most people rely too much on its faculties and not enough on the other senses and smarts we all have developed. Intuition and gut feeling intelligence (some call instinct) we have is learned through interpersonal communication development and works with our emotional intelligence (EQ).  Very few people spend much time developing this strength. This intelligence is accessible for all of us and can be developed through education and repetition if you are feeling like a person who relies to often on intellect (you aren’t alone here).

Now, if you are striving to be classified as ‘books smart’ and want to sit in a cubicle all day disconnected from the world because you just don’t feel you are good with people, think again, this does not have to be your life. You too can be gifted with this brilliance through seeking out the knowledge and developing these skills, it is not a matter of genetics, it is a matter of having the desire to have these skills.

Where to Start?

Obtaining guidance via books is an easy start, and Daniel Coleman’s book on emotional intelligence is a highly recommended book that you could use to start your journey today!

How often do you make decisions from the gut, heart, or intuition?