Adults can change their brain – I want to lead by example.
Adults can change their brain – I want to lead by example.
When I first started writing, I was incredibly nervous and worried. What if nobody read my posts or those that did thought they were not worthy of their time. I was full of self-doubt and fear. The fear was paralysing, and it took hours and days to write anything, the wastepaper bin was always full.
My ‘better half,’ a real boffin and wordsmith, was able to help me, it was a baptism of fire. With debates and constant feedback, it was tough. You see, not everyone has the natural ability to just coherently put their thoughts down on paper. The act of writing was not something I learnt with any great success. As an adult working in the field of architecture, my first profession, you just think so differently. And whilst the problem-solving skills I learnt in that field have set me apart from the dogma of those who have come to this line of work from a psychology degree or teaching as a special needs coordinator (SENco). This, creative ability did not put me in the frame of mind to write about my observations, the eureka moments of all the ideas I wanted to write about seemed to get jumbled and lost. It was a big mess.
Standing back and thinking is good. But sometimes you jump in and make mistakes, lots, and lots of them.
“Whilst language, logic, time is mainly processed on the left side of your brain, emotions and tone and holistic thoughts are processed on the right. ”
Which side of your brain is your dominant side?
Whilst language, logic, time is mainly processed on the left side of your brain, emotions and tone and holistic thoughts are processed on the right. The right side of the brain is not interested in time or sticking to it, it is absorbed in ideas and abstract thoughts. For me, my world was on the right side this dreamy state where ideas flow non-stop is the main diet of any designer. No logic, order or structure, the ideas came from all directions and all at once. This means you can think of many different layers of information simultaneously. And as a therapist working with complex conditions, it is the tool of magicians. I have met many therapists who quote verbatim what they learn from workshops and trainings. But you cannot do this when there are so many layers and so many problems. You must be agile and flexible to throw out bad ideas and come up with new solutions when things don’t work. This flexible way of working is perfect for my students but the worst enemy of the writer I wanted to become.
Training both parts of your brain
This journey has been about my transition as well as learning how to teach those with difficulties. The transition of a dreamy creative person to a structured methodical person. A person who can take out a salient point of a case study. To think about it, to communicate to the lay person without diminishing the integrity of the problem-solving if the same blog was picked up by a specialist in the field.
There is no complacency in this journey. The destination is always beyond reach. At every point, I stop to see what has been written and think this is still a work in progress. I am not there yet. This I feel is a healthy attitude to learning.
“Don’t let the past determine your future”
Taking the challenge is a challenge and worth the tears.
This lesson is to all you adults who started off behind because you were the youngest in the school year, or you had problems of one sort or another that held you back. Don’t let the past determine your future. The brain needs a challenge, and once that challenge is underway, it doesn’t matter if the solutions are perfect but of the new neural pathways you create. By creating the change and persisting with the repetitions, you will get to the point of being comfortable. This does not mean things are brilliant but it indicates a new opportunity has been nurtured. This, in essence, epitomises my therapy work with children. Creating new connections and making new possibilities. We are all capable of brain changes and integrate into a state of harmony regardless of our age.
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About the Author
Usha Patel is a Neurocognitive Therapist and Director at Raviv Practice London. Parents searching to help their suspected/neurodiverse child can get evidence-based solutions with results in as little as 8 weeks. Those in search of jargon-free help can get started straight away.
