Have you ever considered extending the prowess of your dominant hand to your non-dominant one? Do you believe that only a handful of people have the ability to be ambidextrous (one who can work on both hands with the same skill)? But here’s the surprise… YOU CAN BE ONE! But of course, it won’t be a magical or instant thing. There is process, one that you’ve already done as a kid. Okay, let’s summarize this process into 3 major steps.
1st Major Step: Practice
Recognize your NDH.You need to understand that you will be training your NDH (non-dominant hand) just as how you’ve trained the other one when you were in kindergarten, and as it was, you’re going to put a lot of time and effort for this. But hey, you’ve got a goal to make!
Start with your lines and curves. Remember that very first step you learnt in writing? Horizontals, verticals, zigzags and curves… Yes, you can start with them. As you progress, go to your letters and if your ego permits you to, then by all means do tracing letters. You can also research or interview left-handed (or right-handed) people on how they handle their pens and position their papers.
Move from words to sentences. It’ll be a gradual progress, but you will be there nevertheless. The ‘quick brown fox’ thingy is the perfect sentence you can practice all the letters on.
Drawing. After practicing the whole bunch of alphabet into words and sentences, you can try on drawing figures and shapes. Your NDH may be sore of practicing. In order to take your mind away from that nagging pain, use your creativity tools. Don’t be shy in using your Crayolas, Faber Castels and gel pens. Not only that they take away the pressure but I’m pretty much sure, writing will be worth your while and enjoyment.
2nd Major Step: Mind Setting
Breaking away from the usual. As they say, retrain your brain. Refrain it from using your dominant hand. Do simple things with your NDH to give it a shot in getting used to work. For example, comb your hair with your NDH or stir your coffee using it (don’t forget the spoon or stirrer for goodness’ sake!). And again… practice, practice, practice. Here’s a tip: you may actually tie the thumb and forefinger of your dominant hand so you can refrain from using them.
3rd Major Step: Exercising
Strengthen your NDH. Do some exercises fit to empower your arm. You can throw balls using the non dominant hand. Gripping something that is soft but firm may help strengthen your fingers, too. Ideally, play sports that use rackets as they practice different types of grip. Lifting weights exercises your power grip while doing simple things like clicking on the mouse exercise the second kind of grip, which is the precision grip.
While you are training and disciplining yourself to attain your ambidexterity goal, try not to forget to take care of your NDH, too. Just set your pace, and don’t make haste. Remember to prioritize your hand. Just imagine how you can extend your writing prowess when your hand is already sick of pressures.
