Personality Development Module 6: Powers of Mind

THE POWERS OF MIND

OBJECTIVES: At the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Discuss that understanding the left and right brain functions may help in improving one’s learning
• Explore mind-mapping techniques suited to right-brain- or left-brain-dominant thinking styles; and
• Make a plan to improve learning using both left and right brain development.

BRAINPOWER
1. THE POWER TO ACT
3 MAJOR PARTS OF THE BRAIN
• Brain stem connects the spinal cord and the brain. Controls functions that keep people alive
such as breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and food digestion.
• Cerebellum It controls voluntary movement. It translates your will into action.
• Cerebrum Largest of the three brain sections, accounts for 85% of the brain’s weight and has four
lobes.
NEURONS The basic functional units of the nervous system, are three-part units and are key to
brain function. They power the rapid-fire process that turns thought into movement. The thought
moves as an electrical signal down the axons to the dendrite and then jumps to another nerve cell
across space with the help of some chemicals.

2. CRITICAL AGE
There is a consensus among researchers that brain cells regenerate throughout life.
“The size of the brain doesn’t increase much after 3” It is during the first three years of life, the brain
experiences most of its growth and develops most of its potential in learning.
1. The brain parts are adaptable.
2. Deprivation of intellectual stimulation occurs dramatically before age three.

3. DRUG DAMAGE
“The question scientists can’t answer now is if the damage is permanent.”
INHALANTS Such as glue, paint, gasoline, and aerosols, destroy the outer lining of nerve cells and
make them unable to communicate with each other.
Marijuana hinders memory, learning, judgment, and reaction times.
Ecstasy destroys neurons that make serotonin - a chemical crucial in controlling sleep, violence,
mood swings, and sexual urges.
Steroids cause aggression and violent mood swings.
“There’s a lot we won’t know until later. A classic example is cigarettes. We allowed people to smoke
for 100 years before we knew about all the horrible things that nicotine will do.”

4. THE LATERALIZATION OF THE BRAIN THE LEFT AND RIGHT BRAIN THEORY
The theory of brain lateralization was developed by Nobel-prize winners Robert Ornstein and
Roger Sperry.
It states that each side of the brain has different specific functions. While humans use both sides,
each one has a dominant side which, according to the theory, explains much about his or her
behavior, interests, personality, and mode of thinking.
This led to the coined terms left-brained or right-brained individuals.
 LEFT-BRAINED
• These people are:
o Organized
o Logical
o Detail-oriented
• They prefer:
o sequencing
o linear thinking
o mathematics
o thinking in words
o Like to set goals
o Can interpret information well
o Keep a tidy room
o Answer questions spontaneously
o Follow directions and read directions

RIGHT-BRAINED
• These people are:
o Intuitive
o Risk-takers
o Creative
• They prefer:
o imagination
o holistic thinking
o rhythm
o feelings visualization
o daydreaming
o Adventure
o Writing
o Fantasies
o expression

THE THEORY’S ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

PRO: LEARNING Upon knowing the brain inclination or to which brain a person is ‘affiliated’, he or
she could think of ways to boost strengths and compensate for weaknesses. It may lead someone
to develop effective ways to learn and study.
CON: STEREOTYPING Brain dominance may have a negative effect or may even impede learning
when this results in a self-fulfilling prophecy.

5. COLLABORATIVE MIND MAP

Have you ever heard of a mind map?
Popularized by Tony Buzan, a mind map is a thinking technique used to visually organize
information. It is a creative and logical way of organizing thoughts and ideas in your mind through
a diagram.
It usually revolves around a central subject. Major ideas in the form of images and/or words branch
out from the main subject. Texts, lines, colors, images, and symbols may be used to make mind
maps. Mind maps can be simply done by manual drawing or sketching or through more intricate
processes using computer applications.
 Making a Mind Map
1. Decide on what type of mind map you will create.
2. Think of the main idea for your mind map.
3. Add branches to the main idea.
4. Supplement with keywords.
5. Incorporate colors into the branches
6. Attach images if possible.

6. YOU CAN GROW YOUR INTELLIGENCE

“New Research Suggests the Brain is More like a Muscle.”
It changes and gets stronger when you use it. Scientists have been able to show how the brain
grows and gets stronger when you learn.
A person who can’t lift 20 lbs when they start exercising can get strong enough to lift 100 lbs after
working out for a long time. “Use it or lose it!”

Inside the cortex of the brain are billions of neurons connecting in a complicated network.
Communication between these brain cells is what allows us to think and solve problems.
When you learn new things, these tiny connections in the brain actually multiply and get stronger.
The more that you challenge your mind to learn, the more your brain cells grow.

7. Power of an enriched environment

“How do we know that our brain can grow stronger?”
Scientists started thinking that the human brain could develop and change when they studied
animals’ brains. They found out that animals who lived in a challenging environment were
different from animals who lived alone in brain cages.

The whole brain of those playing outside was 10% heavier than the animals who lived alone
without toys. Even old animals got smarter and developed more connections in their brain when
they got the chance to play with new toys and other animals, their brains also grew by about 10%.

Practice is the Key!

From the very first day you are born, you can hear everyone talk and you make sense of these
strange sounds and figure out what they mean. As young as you are, you’re exercising your brain
and learning how to talk goo-goo to real words. The brain has changed – it has actually gotten
smarter.

8. TRUTH ABOUT “SMART” & “DUMB”

“Don’t be dumb, you’re smart!”
No one thinks babies are stupid because they can’t talk. They just haven’t learned how to yet.

Some people will call a person dumb if they can’t solve problems or spell a word right, or read fast
– even though all these things are learned with practice. You can learn something difficult until you
find one topic easier because your brain muscles got stronger!
We are all SMART
When one says – “That’s the smartest student in the class”. They don’t realize that any other
students could learn to do as well if they exercised and practice studying as much.

No one is really that well-rounded. But you can achieve this goal by learning how to use your brain
effectively. Boost it up with mind-boggling questions, read a book, learn some facts, make good
decisions, and devise an idea or plan.

Think about it! We are smart, and we can be smarter! Just try not to push yourself too hard.
Remember: it is a gradual process.