How to do a Mind Map for Goal Setting

A mind map for goal setting is a great tool for brainstorming your wishes and desires.

To do a Mind Map for goal setting, all you need is a large piece of clean paper. Make sure there are no lines on it (as that will impose a ‘structure’ on your thinking, which we don’t want) or if there are lines, turn the paper so that the lines are vertical.

In the center of the page, draw a circle and write in it in capital letters something like “My Life”. This is the key thought for the Mind Map. Now, draw lines radiating out from this circle and at the end of each one of lines, write the name of a life aspect you want to consider. Leave lots of space so you can start to fill it in.

Your Mind Map Skeleton or starting point should look something like this [but with your own relevant life aspects]:

Mind Map for Goal Setting - Skeleton

From here it’s just a matter of jotting down whatever comes into your mind for each of the life aspects – this is the brainstorming bit!

The thoughts and ideas you need to get down in this Mind Map for each life aspect are:

• The things you don’t like about your life as it is.
• The things you like about your life.
• What you want to happen/ have.
• What you don’t want to happen/ have.
• The ‘gap’ between your current life and your ‘perfect’ life.

As you jot down all your thoughts, you will see some common threads – connect these with lines and arrows (use colour so it’s easy to follow).

Go through the section on behaviour profiling and Maslow's motivational needs under the 'About YOU' tab on the NavBar, to give you some mental triggers. Do these indicate a need or desire to add to your Mind Map for goal setting?

This is an opportunity to reflect on where your life is and better still, get excited about the things you want to do and where you want to take your life. That’s the whole point of effective goal setting – by making it personal, it really IS interesting and you should get a real buzz just thinking about the endless opportunities that await.

It’s important to keep your Mind Map for goal setting handy – after all, it is a map of your inner most thoughts and desires. Keep it in a prominent spot and refer to it regularly.

Mind Maps have many other uses too - so it's a good skill to learn. There is a discussion on how to do a Mind Map in the 'Life Skills' tab on the NavBar, under the section on Decision Making and Problem Solving.

NovaMind is an excellent graphical tool for mind mapping and works wonderfully simply in a way that almost hides its complexity and wealth of intuitive features. It provides excellent value for money and is under active continuous development and improvement. You’ll have no regrets buying this software for your mind mapping needs. And you get great support from the company too!

Or from the ‘inventor’ of the Mind Map – Tony Buzan - this book shows you not only how to do a Mind Map, but how to apply it to different tasks – study, creativity, projects, etc. Using practical examples and a step-by-step approach, you’ll be an expert mind mapper in no time at all. Harness the power of mind mapping to improve your mind power!

Brain Storm: Tap into Your Creativity to Generate Awesome Ideas and Remarkable Results

Brainstorm is your personal map to better understanding creative thinking and the brainstorming process. This book will teach you the basics of how to produce many ideas, evaluate each of them, and pick the best one. This book also features in-depth interviews and profiles of a handful of well known people whose brainstorming skills have led them to incredible success.