Left-handed people, at least this left-handed person, can find life... interesting living in a right-handed world and the challenge of every day living goes far beyond simple matters such as maneuvering around spiral notebooks that have the metal coil on the wrong side or trying to find a pair of scissors that are comfortable. Left-handed folks are the only folks who actually live day-to-day in their right mind. Now, before you leap out of your chair, I'm not saying right-handed folks aren't sane. I'm actually being quite literal. The right side of the brain, the "right mind," controls the left side of the body; thus, left-handed people are the only ones living in their "right mind."

What does it matter which side of the brain you live in? According to Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind, it matters a great deal. Right-minded individuals, Pink writes, will hold the high-paying jobs and will be the leaders in the conceptual age.

What makes right-minded people different from left-minded people? Right-minded people are thinkers, creaters, innovators, they think in context, they see the big picture, they process multiple things simultaneously. Left-minded people are doers, they take things in step-wise/sequentially, they like to analyze the details. To simplify, left-minded people are great inventors, designers, storytellers, teachers, writers; right-minded people are great planners, analysts, researchers, bean counters.

Why differentiate? Is it really important? Pink things it is. He believes that we're moving into a conceptual age and the major employers and careers will be in areas that heavily target right-minded people. We'll always have a need for accountants, analysts, researchers and the like; but the businesses of the conceptual age are likely to outsource these activities and keep only those employees that can understand the context of situations and see the bigger picture.

If you're not left-handed, can you become a right-minded person? Pink believes so; but it may take some work on your part to get there. In his book, Pink provides some suggestions on how left-minded people can develop their right-mind. Do they work? It wouldn't hurt to give them a try, if you're really interested in becoming more right-minded.

Personally, I aim for the "whole-mind" construct, meaning I'm trying for balance. I'm typically a Type Z personality, meaning I'm intrinsically a bit lazy, and have to be able to see the details, analyze them and plan for things in order to offset the impact of my creative side. In other words, I have to fight a bit to keep my creative side under control enough to get work done; and the semblance of balance helps me do that. (Check out Marc Allen's The Type-Z Guide to Success if you're interested in some tips on how to put your type-z personality to work for you.) Sure, there are people who are completely left- or right-brained (I know quite a few accountants and writers that couldn't cross-over to the other side, so to speak, if there lives depended on it); but I think most of us tend to be or strive to be a bit more balanced.

What do you do now? Should you change your major and strive for an enntirely different career? Not in my book. Humanity should stive to reach the point where we work to live, not live to work. Mark Klein, author of What do I do Now: A Handbook for Life, sums it up nicely in his poem Once Upon a Time:

"It is much too hard for anyone,
to try to please another one.
Success is measured inside, you see,
be the best you can, for you, not me."
(page 24)

So, stick to a major you really like so that you can find a job in something you really love. You may find you're not on the fast-track to wealth; but, you're likely to be happier in the long run. That's more important in my book.

Until next time!

Lynn Byrne

Preparing for college admissions? Trying to find direction? Need a little help with the planning? Check out my college planning series:

• College Planning Made Easy--the planning and preparation workbook for the take charge, college-bound student,
  
• Paying for College Made Easy--a college financing guide designed to assist students and families in preparing and planning for higher education expenses; and
  
• The Great Scholarship Search--my guide for students and parents researching and applying for scholarship funding.