A goal of effective living is to have balance in your life. Don't eat too little or too much; don't spend everything you have and don't pinch every penny you earn; don't be obsessive about exercise and don't sit around doing nothing. The list could go on and on.

Balance can also be seen as an appropriate way to think, feel and display values. The test that you have just taken gives you a picture of you as you see yourself, at this point in your life. Your score indicates how balanced you are from the perspective of thinking (cerebral cortex functioning), your base emotions (temporal lobe functioning) and your values (frontal lobe functioning). A goal may be to have your scores fall between 4 and 6 in each of these three categories. The avoidance of extremes is an excellent way of controlling stress.

Of course there are times in the day as well as periods in our life when a higher score in one area is appropriate. For example, there are times when we should be religious or judgmental (frontal lobe control), there are times to fight or flight problems (temporal lobe control) and there are times to calculate or fix things (cerebral cortex control).

Ideally, though, it is the cerebral cortex that makes the decision on which section is to dominate, not the frontal or temporal lobe.

Is there such a thing as a perfect score on the BBT? Perhaps a 6 in the cerebral cortex and a 5 and a 4 in one of the other two sections. But who has a squeaky-clean psyche?

Order and read Friday's Laws for a more thorough description of the Balanced Brain Test and how to obtain a more balanced life and lifestyle.