If you are at all familiar with mind mapping, the above illustration will make total sense to you. If you haven’t – well – read on and I’ll attempt to enlighten you.
Wikipedia describes mind maps as a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid to studying and organizing information, solving problems, making decisions, and writing.
Did you get that?
Let me give you an example. Earlier this week, was looking for another way to say breakthrough without using that word. I wasn’t gaining a lot of progress until my daughter suggested I mind map. This was a practice at which I’d become quite adept during my corporate career, but since my semi-retirement, I hadn’t had much need to use it. So, I mind mapped.
The first words I came up with to describe breakthrough were invention, progress, advance, achieve, increase, discovery. This led to evolution, journey, momentum, promotion, rise, which then resulted in elevation, encouragement, favor, honor. I got some more good words like innovation, boost, enlargement, maximize, multiplication, surge, turning point – bold courageous, dauntless, daring, fearless, resolute, unafraid, valiant. And these were just a few!
Who knew that breakthrough could mean so many things.
My point is this: sometimes we get stuck in a rut and we can only see what’s in front of us. We don’t think about what is beyond what we can see. But all it takes a piece of paper, a pencil and a little out-of-the-box thinking, and suddenly we have a whole world of possibilities.
Breakthrough . . . hmmm . . . maybe you just need a mind map to have one!
Inside the Writer 