When I graduated college, I did what everyone else did.
Get a job, go to work daily, come home, eat, rinse, and repeat.
However, after I was laid off for the second time, I realized I needed to change.
So I quit my job, turned down offers including Amazon, and went backpacking.
It was during this period of my life I learned about mind maps.
TLDR: Mind maps are life-changing. They will force you to think deep.
What I learned from mind maps wasn’t about pretty visuals or a wall of text.
No.
It was about how to think.
Sounds silly, right?
And you’re probably thinking to yourself now, “But I already know how to think.”
I thought so too.
That all changed when I discovered that real thinking manifests when we sit down and think.
Truly think about the thing we’re doing.
Let’s use an example:
What do I do with my life?
Reasonable question.
Let me ask, how did you answer it?
Did you have an answer?
If yes, great!
If no, no worries. (This question is HARD for anyone.)
Now let’s try answering using the mind map framework.
Okay, we got some clarity now.
We’ve broken it down into short-term (less than 1 year) and long-term (more than 1 year) timelines.
Let’s go deeper.
Awesome! Now we’ve isolated our thinking to “Goals” and by category (Personal vs. Professional).
Let’s go one level deeper.
Now that’s specific. 👊
By doing this exercise, you’re clearly articulating what you want, when you want it, with whom you want to do it, etc.
Your thinking has gone 3 levels deep vs. the 1 level we had initially.
How’s that for deep thinking?
Let’s try one more exercise that I love doing and do every week.
A mind map for our life as a whole.
Doing this mind map exercise will unveil so much about yourself.
- Likes
- Dislikes
- Passions
- Interests
- Goals
- Ambitions
The list goes on.
A mind map is ultimately a way of thinking.
A way of being able to consolidate your brain in one place to make sense of this crazy thing called life.
Now go give it a try.
Map out your life, goals, ambitions, and so on.
And when you’re done, let me know how it went!
Would love to hear about it.
Chat soon! 👊
