Mind mapping
A fun, right-brained process helps you tap into your creativity and reach your goals faster.

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
—Albert Einstein

Mind mapping is a tool coaches use to help clients discover Einstein’s “sacred gift” and its powerful impact on our ability to define, set and achieve personal and career goals. Here’s what a mind map looks like for someone (ME) whose central goal is to physically prepare for a major hiking trip to Mt. Zion. (Yes, for those of you who know me, I’m getting ready to again test my stamina by trekking with my “Wild Women” hiking friends.)

Notice my example mind map features four essential characteristics:
1. The mind map’s central image is called the subject, a.k.a. the goal.
1. Radiating from the central image are the goal’s main themes in a SMART Goal format. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely.
1. Each “branch” contains a key image or word, which is written on an associated line. Lesser topics are also written on branches attached to higher-level branches.
1. The branches form a connected structure.

Notice, too, the mind map includes personal images, drawings and color themes that make it interesting, beautiful and unique. It doesn’t resemble a tidy outline in the traditional sense, which is one of its hallmarks. Mind maps lend themselves to a more creative approach to goal setting that taps into the right side of the brain.

How do mind maps work?
Mind maps help you avoid linear, left-brain thinking and open you up to creative, right-brained processes that recognize and use life’s disorder. Think of it this way: Try as we might to impose order on our personal and business relationships, our health and on our short- and long-term goals, we often encounter disorder. Mind mapping is a tool that capitalizes on the disorder by helping us move away from analytical, sequential thinking that focuses on details and embrace the whole picture intuitively and spontaneously.

Possible mind map central themes (goals) include everything from “spending more time with my family,” to “increasing my business profits by 10 percent this year” to “hiring a coach,” to “reading the complete works of William Shakespeare” to “implementing a web-based sales campaign.” You may also use mind mapping to prepare for a presentation, teach a class or lead an important meeting.

What are the benefits of mind mapping?
For managers, mind mapping can:

• Streamline training and make it more effective.
• Boost sales, thanks to tight, focused marketing campaigns and promotions.
• Facilitate communication between management and direct reports, as well as peers, which may result in stronger employee loyalty, higher retention and more satisfied customers.

Other benefits include:

• Mental energy that uses all of our creative-thinking skills and allows us to tap into new insights.
• A big-picture view that increases our ability to make associations and integrate ideas.
• A sense of playfulness and humor that helps us over the normal “bumps” we may encounter as we set and work to achieve goals.
  

Coaching can help you discover, map and reach your goals
Mind mapping is just one of the tools I use to help my clients set goals that motivate and inspire them to take the next big step with fewer mistakes along the way. Whether you’re ready to become a manager, eager to work toward transforming yourself into a person who inspires others or are ready to transition from a life-long career you’ve loved to the next big adventure, let me help you do it with creativity, intuition and lasting happiness. Please contact me at donna@reachthetop.net.

back to top

Each day, the left and right sides of your brain work beautifully in tandem. In our society, particularly in business, we’re encouraged to process information using left-brain functions.

Here’s a brief look at the halves of our cerebrum:

Whether your tendency is to be left or right brained, studies indicate the more we think, the better our brains work. What’s more, when it comes to intellectual pursuits, mature brains may have an advantage over younger brains in that they respond more strongly to high-brow enrichment.

Like our bodies, our brains benefit from exercises that strengthen neural connections or create new paths. Here are a few easy workouts that will stimulate your neurons.

• Use your non-dominant hand to send an email message, change the channel on a remote, brush your hair and teeth or manipulate the mouse on your laptop. Feel awkward? That’s good! It’s a sign your brain is learning a new skill and building a new neural pathway in the process.
• Break your routine by taking a new route to work, walking the dog along a new path in your neighborhood or stopping for gas at a station you’ve never visited before.
• Take a shower or get dressed with your eyes closed. Notice what you feel and hear instead of see.
• Read, read, read!
  

back to top

The Mind Map® Book, by Tony Buzan (author of Use Both Sides of Your Brain) with Barry Buzan, A Plume Book, 1996

back to top

Embrace a new leadership role. Inspire and motivate your people. Transition into a new career. Shift into a meaningful retirement. Our goal at Reach the Top is to help you design and implement the next stage of your life successfully and joyously!

Donna Billings, Founder
Professional Certified Coach

back to top