Mind Mapping is a powerful method to unleash your brain and overall potential. It can indeed boost all in one your memory, your creativity and your ideation. It also helps you better communicate, negotiate, solve problems and even heal. More on this amazing method in this post.
Today I am sharing with you a practical tool that can assist us unlocking our potential by creating connections.
Mind maps
Mind maps, also called heuristic maps, are powerful tools to take notes, focus on information you need to process, generate new ideas or options, develop a project and set up action plans. They can also improve dyslexia, attention deficit disorders, autism and dementia.
To make it simple, a mind map is a diagram that looks like the structure of a neuron, with branches originating from the center of the cell and developing themselves in the form of associations. It includes colors, drawings, connections and some specific rules to follow in order to unleash your brain. Several iterations can be performed should you wish to further fine-tune the first draft.
The creator of Mind Mapping
Tony Buzan created Mind mapping in the 60′ when starting his research on human mind. Mind maps are in fact a natural evolution of human thinking. They come from the beginning of time and the willingness to use images to communicate our internal thoughts. The first signs can actually be found on the walls of cave and are 40 000 years old. They evolved over time in Egyp, Ancient Greece and Europe. Geniuses like Leonardo da Vinci, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein used some form of mind maps with a significant impact on their respective work.
The creation mode of mind maps mobilizes the cerebral cortex by utilizing the resources from both right and left hemispheres. Both hemispheres display actually different roles. The left one is more rational, logical, analytical, dealing with numbers, words, series and lists. The right one is more dedicated to imagination, dreaming, holistic consciousness and colors. Combining both really unlock your potential quite rapidly.
Manual and numeric maps
It is highly beneficial to draw mind maps manually. However, some softwares such as iMindMap (now AYOA) have been developed and include additional advantages:
- mind maps can be corrected
- they can be numerically saved
- they can be linked to other media
- they are easy to generate
- they can be co-generated by several colleagues asynchronously.
Pay attention that some rules need to followed to display the true benefits of Mind Mapping and that all maps, trainers and softwares comply with them.
Check out Tony Buzan website to see how a mind map looks like and give it a try.
Grab one of Tony’s book to learn more about this great tool that will be beneficial to you and your kids, if any.
If you would like to get support from a certified trainer and/or to implement it within your organization, reach out for more details.