For my entire adult life, I’ve had 2 careers: one in the arts, and the other in business (L&D). In the freelance world of training and coaching, I was advised to keep a strict separation between my art work and my coaching work. The sense was that if anyone in business knew I was a writer and performer, I wouldn’t be taken as seriously. The reverse wasn’t the case; most artists have some kind of day job! But the message was always clear: it was necessary to keep my art separate, and even secret, from my “day job”.

I no longer believe that.

When I started studying neuroscience-based coaching. I realized that, from the perspective of the brain, having a creative breakthrough on either a business problem or having an aha! moment as an artist, engages exactly the same parts of the brain. I might approach it a bit differently as a coach vs. as an artist, but the same neural processing is occurring. And we all need that process to solve difficult problems, innovate, and meet today’s challenges.

Neuroscience-based coaching has freed me to bring my artist side to work. That side can naturally move in and out of divergent thinking – the type of thinking needed to solve problems and have insights, whether on a specific project or career-planning as a whole. That type of thinking is also needed on a variety of problems our world is facing at this time.

I now coach others in a process derived from both neuroscience and artistic process that frees them to move in and out of divergent thinking… and I’ve never had more fun, or more satisfaction in my coaching!

In my next blog post, I’ll go into more details about what happens in the brain when insight – an Aha! moment – is occurring.

PS – here’s my site for my arts career: https://jenniferjoyonline.com/