Balance

After the Second World War, Society enjoyed a time of building and engineering that lasted well into the 70's.  By the time the 80's rolled around there were talks that engineering field was in trouble.  Schools were failing at teaching upper and basic math.  A low hum of chaos was slowly creeping in.  Society was changing.  We had NASA a great pillar of math and science, we had studies coming out for this and that.  Numbers whizzed around conversations.  Computer jobs were promised to the young generation coming out of high school.  But  things still changed.  Now engineering jobs are not as abundant, the IT world has shunned older workers from the 80's and 90's for younger workers, outsourced to other countries, and require a bigger skill set from their workers.  NASA struggles to keep the public's attention.  Science research struggles to get funding.  You have to wonder what happened to common sense?  Where did it all go wrong?  Where was the future we were promised?  Our analytical and digital dreams smashed on the rocks of economic failure and shortsightedness.  The United States was riding on a waive of technological innovation since World War II.  That surge of tech innovation has now petered out.  What we are left with is an imbalance.  We have analytical knowhow and digital equipment but lack in the intuition to promote life.  People in society needs to strike a balance if we are going to make it into the future.

What is striking a balance?  Its really quite simple. To illustrate I will tell you a story. There once was a powerful man in northern Africa. He had wealth and means and live like he did. His doctor one day told him he had just six months to live because of a terminal disease for which there was no cure. He decided to alter his diet. He ate a little of everything that he could find. He set up a dietary regiment of a variety of foods and drinks. The man not only beat the disease but lived to be a good old age. He chose a diet of balance. He did not major on one item. He majored on all items equally.  He chose to go with his intuition regardless of what doctors said.  Another example is my Graduate Math Professor showed the class that applying intuition to a problem to see how it goes together makes for a faster and more complete solution.  Striking a balance with intuitive thinking and analytical thinking is rewarding.

What is the nature of intuition?  How does intuition differ from analytical thinking?  We all think with our brains.  We are all taught in school to put our thinking caps on.  That's the analytical thinking we were taught.  But no one has taught us how to use our intuition.  Where the analytical brain estimates truth, intuition knows.  Where analytics demands evidence, intuition requires non.  Where analytics requires a busy mind, intuition requires a quiet mind.  Where analytics caused frenzies, intuition promotes calm.  In many aspect intuition and analytical thinking are opposites.  So intuition become seemingly contrary to our busy hectic analytical way of thinking.  Yet, intuition can be used in a way to complement analytical thinking.

How can we put the intuitional and analytical thinking to use to better our performance?  When you come across a problem to calm yourself, scan your feelings about the problem, scan possible causes  of the problem that pop into your head, and come up with a possible solution.  Then take that solution and work out a way to figure the details out with the analytical brain.  This may involve pen and paper and/or use of calculators and computers.  When you are working on a problem that is big and you come across a road block, sleep on the problem.  Before you go to bed that night pose your question to yourself and then record what you dream about.  Sleep brings about dreams and intuitive thinking.  You can often find guidance to a solution with this method.  One more thing to do.  On a lunch break go out for a walk, let your mind enjoy the sun, the birds, the plants, and any fountains or bodies of water.  You can go back to work refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of the day.  During this time let you mind wonder free.  It will use intuition to sort out things and give itself a time of healing.  These are only a few ideas you might want to try to incorporate intuition more in your life.

Since we grew up in a society that maximized analytical thinking, we often forget we are also intuitive beings.  Understanding that a balance needs to be struck to better ourselves and our performance, understanding what intuition is, and applying practical ways to incorporate intuition can give us the much needed balance in our lives.  When you start to strike a balance you may feel a little more joyous, or perhaps some relief.  Our society depends on each one doing their part to strike a balance and teach the young to do the same.