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THE HUMAN BRAIN:
Unlocking your potential
I am female because of my
dad and I am smart because of my mum. It is commonly known today that the gender
of a child depend on the father. It is not commonly known yet that the intelligence
of a child is mainly inherited from the mother. But we are not going to talk
about the issue of men looking for smart spouses to have smart children here.
We are going to talk about the old debate of nature versus nurture, and how
it relates to knowing and developing human potential in life and at work.
Latest research indicates
that nature (heredity) has a 70% share while nurture (environment) has a 30%
share in influencing human potential or capability. Not much can be done with
genetic constitution, i.e., the physical and mental characteristics, inherited
from parents - they are 70% innate. On the other hand, much can be done with
the rest of the 30% involving the surroundings and circumstances of living.
Enters the human brain - the mysterious organ whose function could fully utilies
influences of the environment.
The brain is divided into
three parts. A small portion (10%) called the reptilian brain, or hind brain,
controls territory, space, survival, self-defense, self-preservation, breeding,
grooming, autonomous (nervous system - walking, breathing, heartbeats, etc.)
and rythm (dance). Another small but significant portion (10%) called the mammalian
brain, or limbic system, controls emotions, feelings, group instinct, family,
spiritual, politics, cries of joy or pain, intuitions, mediates between conscious
and subconscious, and directs memory.
This leaves the largets
portion of the human brain (80%), the neo or cerebral cortex, which control
thinking, conceptualisation, reading, writing, logic, math, problem solving,
decision making, and language. It is major part that differentiates humans from
animals. What has knowing the parts of the brain got to do with potential? Apparently,
finding out brain dominance - upper left cerebral (facts) lower right limbic
(feelings), or upper right cerebral (future) - allows for the discovery of creative
and leadership styles, thereby unleashing hidden potentials and enabling competence
development.
The reasoning behind brain
dominance and competence development is the idea that dominance leads to preference
which leads to interest, motivation and finally the acquisition of competence.
In a nutshell - if we like to do something, we will do it well. A logical or
analytical mind likes problem solving, e.g., an accountant ot mathematician.
A sensitive or humanistic mind likes to nurture, e.g., a social worker or teacher.
Thus, finding and knowing our brand dominance can be the first step in unlocking
our potential.
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