TL;DR: This is the second post in a series. Go back to last week's post if you're wondering what I'm on about here. Below, I review my Left Hemisphere “Higher” Brain Character One, who I've named "Angela". Angela is very useful, but I have found greater contentment in my life by not having her be my primary character anymore.
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So, here's my exploration of my own characters utilizing the model from the book, Whole Brain Living, by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor. In order to examine each of the Four Characters in my own brain and get to know them better, I’m going to introduce you to them here. I’ll go character by character and make a post about each one. Of note, Taylor recommends that you give each character its own unique name in order interact with it and honor it more easily.
Here’s a link to the material I’m referring to in case you missed it: https://www.sloww.co/whole-brain-living/#whole-brain-living-four-characters
CHARACTER ONE: “Angela”
I call my Character One, Angela. I decided upon that name because it is the one I was assigned and who the law considers me to be. Of note, no one calls me by this name 😉.
Angela is my power in the world, and she is the home of my Ego self. She will compete when she is challenged and fight for her beliefs (that she created). She is intensely precise with language and wields it as a mighty tool, especially in professional situations where her persona and identity appear particularly important. She can be judgmental of both herself, others, and the world at large. She sees things in a very clear, dualistic way: good and bad, right and wrong, black and white. She utilizes her knowledge of past and future events to make sense of the world and her place in it. She is focused on details and is meticulous in completing projects until they are done to her high standard of satisfaction. She loves to plan, set boundaries and guidelines, and tries to manipulate her environment to meet her expectations. Most notably, TIME and the keeping of it, is paramount. Angela is a taskmaster whose primary goal is never to be late. To Angela, tardiness is absolutely unacceptable.
For many people, Character One is their primary character. Angela was my go-to girl for much of my adult life, and her skills were a great asset in many situations. She is a highly valued member of my Whole Brain Team, and she does her job well. However, Angela has been fired as my primary, default character. I don’t like the way my body feels when the powerhouse that is Angela is running the show. She feels tense, rigid, and closed. She is such a dominant force that it is difficult for my other characters to be heard; quite frankly, I enjoy hanging out in my Right Brain characters a WHOLE lot better.
Angela is a part of my unique (yet predictable) neural circuitry, and she allows me to show an "acceptable" human face to a human world. I am grateful for her, truly. But when she is not needed, she is strongly encouraged, over and over again, to step aside. ❤️🧠
Join me here next week for my exploration of Character Two...