How to make difficult decisions
You will need a blank sheet of paper. A clear mind. A pencil. Focus on the question, on the choice you want to address.
Write your question as a title at the top center of the page. Draw a vertical line down the middle of the page, just below the title.
Hold the pencil with your non-dominant hand. Keeping the theme you want to explore firmly in mind, start writing and noting down the sensations and feelings that emerge just from thinking about this choice. Write spontaneously, without filtering too much, letting your thoughts flow. Writing with your non-dominant hand slows you down, and many people find that slow, clumsy writing makes it easier not to filter what comes out.
At first, it may seem complicated or unnatural. This is completely normal. Your non-dominant hand is not used to this type of activity, so it is understandable to feel a little discomfort.
Continue to note on the left side of the sheet everything that belongs to your emotional sphere: sensations, fears, desires, doubts, even if they are not very rational or are contradictory. The goal is to give voice to your more intuitive side. The hand does not unlock a hidden half of your mind — no such half has been found in the brain[1] — but it does change the pace, and the column gives your feelings a place of their own.
Now it's the other hand's turn. Switch to a rational analysis of the issue. In the right column, write with your dominant hand all the more rational considerations you can come up with.
This time, take your time to reflect. Examine the pros and cons, evaluate the consequences, consider the impact of your actions on yourself and those around you. Think about the advantages and disadvantages, costs and benefits, and alternative solutions.
Try to maintain a certain symmetry between the two columns, in order to give equal space and dignity to both your emotional and rational sides.
Analyze your choice
You will find yourself with a sheet of paper with two columns that, at times, may even contain conflicting ideas. It is precisely from this dissonance that doubts and decision-making difficulties often arise.
Now try to find a point of balance. Reflect on how to integrate the needs and demands of both parts: the emotional and the rational. It is not about choosing the “right part,” but about finding a synthesis that takes both into account.
On the back of the sheet — or at the bottom — start writing possible actions that can satisfy both levels of analysis. It is a way to transform internal conflict into constructive mediation.
Congratulations
If you have completed the exercise, you have shown courage: you have chosen to observe yourself from within, in a deep and conscious way.
By repeating the exercise on different topics, you will notice that there is often no solution that can fully satisfy both perspectives. This very feeling of imperfect balance can be the signal that you have found a wise and well-considered decision.
Did you find the clarity you were looking for? Share this exercise with those you think might find it useful.
Deciding is a two-voice job: one calculates, one feels. Whether the brain splits them between its hemispheres — less neatly than people say — is in creativity and logic in the brain hemispheres. And to get the two voices talking on paper, keep a journal.
And if you would like to train your hands as well, my book "How to Become Ambidextrous" has a programme of progressive exercises for the non-dominant hand, a few minutes a day.
Frequently asked questions
How to use the right hemisphere of the brain
You already use both hemispheres in almost everything you do, and writing with your left hand does not switch the right one on in any special way. If you want more intuitive or creative thinking, practise it directly: free writing, drawing, or a two-column exercise like the one on this page.
What does the right hemisphere of the brain control
The right hemisphere mainly controls the movements and sensations of the left side of the body, including the left hand, and is more involved in spatial attention. The idea that it is the seat of creativity and emotion is an oversimplification: creative and emotional work uses networks in both hemispheres.
At what age can you tell if a child is left-handed
A preference often shows between 2 and 4 years old, but in young children it stays weak and inconsistent and keeps firming up through the early school years. Watch which hand the child uses spontaneously and let them explore both sides without forcing either.
