I don't know if you have ever done this, but yesterday I decided to try something wild - I changed the hand I wear my watch on from the non-dominant over to my right. While I knew it would make a difference, I wasn't actually prepared for how much of a difference it has made and - none of it is good.
I have been wearing a sports watch consistently for about two years now and while I rarely use it for its intended purpose of tracking my activity, I have enjoyed it after a very long period of relying on my phone for the time. However, while muscle memory kicked in, it has never become "part of me" like it used to be when I was younger and has always been somewhat uncomfortable, no matter the band I use.
The reason I made the shift wasn't because of this though - I really just want to see how long it is going to take for my body to adjust to the "new normal" or, for my head to get so frustrated by the change, it forces me to move it back to my left hand. I really think that my head is going to give in before the adjustment takes place.
It has disrupted everything and, my attention is painfully aware that there is a change, amplifying the discomfort of the change. My right hand (dominant) feels heavy and awkward, like it has been injured and protests at any moves. However, it isn't just the hand, it is the entire arm from the shoulder down, which is a bit of a surprise. The other thing is that while not a very large watch (46mm), it feels far heavier than it did on my left hand and it gets in the way constantly.
There is no directly practical reason for me to run this experiment on myself, however as a trainer, it is interesting to see how a slight change is going to be accepted or rejected by the body and mind. Essentially, my work requires enabling improved behaviors, which often requires shifting a "bad" habit into a better process. And whilst everyone can understand why and be onboard at the knowledge level, changing the actual behavior can be a monumental task that takes a lot of attention, effort and time.
Speeding up this changeover process vastly improves skill abilities, because it allows for more changes to be made and the more it is done, the easier it gets. These then compound against each other earlier, increasing the impact of the changes themselves in the same way that a compound interest calculation is going to be affected by both the frequency of compounds and the frequency (and amount) of additional inputs. Calculating a deposit monthly will return more than yearly. Adding a monthly deposit will return more than adding the same amount yearly.
It is about continual compounding and in this case, it is about skills, not money. Yet similarly, just like needing the money resources to invest into a compounding return, skill resources are required also and these come in various forms, including physical, informational and mental. If an individual doesn't have the correct resources available at the right time, the investment results are going to be reduced.
One of those resources is the cluster of skills required to deal with change, as like it or not, change itself is always uncomfortable when moving from a habit, even if to something better that brings improved results and experiences. Getting used to this "pain" helps us to lower the resources needed for the next hurdle for the next change, speeding our ability to introduce, learn, make changes, accept and practice enough that they become behavioral defaults. It is like "buying low" where the change comes with a higher return and therefore, more resources available for the next investment.
While largely pointless in terms of telling the time, changing the watch hand has been a good reminder how even slight alterations to normal behavior have knock-on effects that cause all kinds of other changes. For example, typing is more difficult now and I feel like I am "off balance" when I concentrate on it, but as I have a million things to do - I forget to me uncomfortable.
Speaking of which,
is that the time?
No matter which hand my watch is on, time doesn't stop and the desk is still full.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
You're old, your neural plasticity is poor and it's difficult to create new synapses but you will get used to it!
I haven't worn a watch since I was in my 20s but I always wore it on my dominant right and didn't know is was wearing it wrong until someone called me weird, probably in my teens. It just always seemed so natural to look at simply by turning my wrist slightly.
In recent studies about autism and stuff like that, I've found some research on the issue and the links to personality traits based on left and right sided brain dominance but at the end of the day, it is also possible that its worn on the non-dominant wrist because that's simply where watch makers intended us to wear it so we could wind it with our dominant hand and the tradition stuck!
If you change the word 'normal' to 'usual' it often alters ones perception and makes change less difficult. 'People use the word 'normal' as if it means 'correct' but that's not necessarily so in my opinion! In this case, perhaps wearing a watch on the non-dominant hand is normal BUT not the best way!
Hope you're well :-)
This has been further hampered by the broken part in my cerebellum, which makes learning new tasks and automating them far more difficult.
This makes sense, as doe the winding - but one of the reasons I changed was because the buttons (digital sport watch) dig into my wrist on the left hand - I feel they stick out too much, but if I wear it any higher on my wrist, it feels like it is on my forearm :D
The left/right brain studies are fascinating - it is like there are two (or more) completely different people in there.
Talk soon!
I have experinced that little changes in our life might make a big changes later on. For example, if one would like to lose weight, they can start eating less and take some walking everyday. What the most important thing here is to be determinant and not to delay them. Also, we should adopt ourselves to the change.
And, what I have found is that by doing something like eating a bit better and walking a bit more, we then eat a little bit better again and start running soon. It also tends to positively affect the way we feel about ourselves, even if the changes are very minor.
Hi Mr @tarazkp
I am very surprised by what you have to say. That a small example in the form of a watch shift from the right hand to the left hand is a change that requires adaptation in our mindset.
You are absolutely right, herein lies the value of change. That it is something whose value must increase and give us something different over time.
Adaptability is the most fundamental value in a change, if not able to adapt then anyone will lose and become extinct. Of course you still remember the extinction of Nokia who refused changes to their products to adapt to developments.
So investing to adapt is the price you have to pay to deal with change.
Have a nice day
Making small changes add up to large results - but it is hard to keep at them consistently enough.
Remember, "Nokia phones" - Nokia Networks are still ticking along globally.
A simple change in life may lead to the need to adapt and find solutions. I write with my right hand, but I'm not good with my left. Why don't I make simple lines with my fingers? It is useful and fun to try.
Try brushing your teeth or wiping your butt with the opposite hand! A fun little experiment :)
Rightfully said time doesn't stop no mater where you fix the watch or even if you don't where it at all it continues to click which is what we are born to experience in life.
Time destroys everything - In time.
In order to get used to wearing or holding things easily with both hands, I advise you to use the toothbrush, sometimes with the right hand and then with the left, you will feel a noticeable improvement.
Yes, I have done this before - but I often "forget" that I am training myself - the challenge with habits :)
One of the best things I have done in my life is removing that watch from my wrist. I am in fact bimanual, so there is no difference in dominant hands, but that was not a problem. A problem was in an obsession with accuracy, with time, with completing things in time... I like to be punctual, but buying a wristwatch for a 14-years old super-obsessed teen who likes all neatly organized is a recipe for a disaster. I grew a very bad habit of constantly checking on that thing. 10 years after I was saving a man's life and a watch cut into my wrist and broke off during a very vile cpr. The outcome was me covered in blood and one very happy bastard who survived the worst. I decided never to wear a watch again and rarely do I check on time either, as we do not know how much time is left to us. Punctuality is good, but only to a certain limit.
I switched once because of a wound and because of the distraction of having a wound I got so used to it that when I switched back it felt wrong. And took me quite a while to not get mentally inclined to stay on the same wrist.