Setting Myself Up for Failure

It may sound crazy, but lately I've been setting myself up for failure...on purpose.

I'm right-handed but have been trying to throw with my left hand and kick with my left foot when playing ball with my dog. Let me tell you, Lily was very patient with me. When kicking her small orange ball with my right foot, I could get that thing to loft into the air and go a good distance, but with my left foot, it was a totally different story. At first, it was the same as when I golfed, nothing but air. My foot usually wouldn't even hit the ball, but if it did, the ball hardly moved from its spot. Sometimes I got lucky and the ball would actually move forward a few feet. After a while, I'd get to feeling bad for Lily and, for her sake, would revert back to using my right foot. Boy would that get her running! But each time Lily and I went out to play ball, I would try for quite a while to kick her ball with my left foot. It really didn't take more than a few days of trying before there was consistent contact and distance, which made both of us happy.

Like I said, I also tried throwing with my left hand. There was a bit more success in that, but only because the ball was already in my hand. Although the ball went much farther than when I kicked it with my left foot, the difference between throws with the right hand and the left were obvious. Nonetheless, I kept throwing with with my non-dominant hand and paying attention to how my wrist moved, how the ball sort of rolled off my finger tips, and how my arm moved. Often I would throw with my right hand, paying attention to all those things, and then try to mimic the movements with the left side of my body. Just like with the kicking, my throwing improved quite a bit.

So now you may be wondering "Who cares?" or "What's the point?" Well, let me tell you. I have been purposely setting myself up for failure in order to become better. I have been challenging the left side of my body to improve the power of my brain. That's right. There is a connection between the ability to use both sides of your body and the ability of your brain. You don't have to only practice academics to "get smarter."

So I challenge you. Start using your weaker, non-dominant hand to eat, open jars, throw balls, drink, and unlock your door and use your non-dominant foot to kick a ball, push a drawer closed and pull open a door. It won't take long before you'll see the physical progress and in the future you'll appreciate the mental results. Talk about a painless way to get a better functioning brain!

Signed,
Lora the Study Coach