On The Heels Of A New Year: A Mind Mapping Exercise To Craft Your Resolutions

I’m staring at the twelve monthly calendars I pinned onto my inspiration board in my home office, and I admiring the colorful artwork in all of it’s glory.  “I’m such a funny creature” passes through my inner monologue when I sit in a moment’s retrospect.  For some reason my memory takes me back to many years of where black, white, and gray were all you could find in my wardrobe … in my furniture … even in my dishes – any hint of color was forbidden in my daily routine.  And, look at me now … a thirty-something that just a few years ago allowed my world to be invaded by color, even if in sudden hints of color-pop, and I am forever a different person.  In fact, if ever you were to ask me now what my favorite color is you may be surprised to know it no longer begins with the letter “B”, but “O” for orange 🙂

And, as my eyes continue to wonder across my inspiration board I come upon a card (I always post my favorites up for some time … at least until a new one enters my world), that reads: May You Live A Life You Love.  And, as if the phrase isn’t remarkable enough, it’s the white card with each letter in it’s own color – so simply striking – that always has a way to give the subtlest lift of inspiration.  I guess that makes it an obvious as to why it’s on my inspiration board!  I am staring now … staring at a board that is meant to serve a purpose for me, in particular, in 2017.  It’s funny because I find a pattern I clearly was subconcious to when preparing my board, and that is that the word Wish appears often.  I know I have wishes … I know the act of blowing out candles to make a wish is one of the most sacred moments I enjoy watching people make during birthday celebrations … I recognize wishes carry hope … and I guess this is a time I should acknowledge it’s time for me to spend on outlining what my wishes are for 2017.

For me, entering this new year with an idea of where I would love to see it go is far better than letting the first day of the new year come without any construct.  I harbor no judgements on myself for this character trait – I know myself well enough now!  I have been accustomed to writing down my new year resolutions, and even have the entire family doing it now.  Do I dare say goosebumps appear at the eve of the new year when we all revisit our year’s goals and literally quantitatively determine our score of success?  Okay, yeah … busted on the goosebumps.  But, again, no judgements because I am quickly reminded of the path my life has led where entering corporate America fresh out of high school and climbing the ranks didn’t come by frolicking around in cute heals with no goals in sight!  I learned early on the power of writing them down – visiting them often – and, even some times, adjusting them if necessary.  This way, I feel I’ve stayed true to myself.

2017 is going to be no different EXCEPT I want to capture my goals through mind mapping.  As scary as it may sound, mind mapping is not a scary sci-fi that you should rent from Netflix!  It actually is a visual diagram of your thoughts – and in this case, 2017 goals,  I came across the idea for mind mapping personal goals on LinkedIn the other day.  LinkedIn is one of my top social media platforms I enjoy perusing, and I come across great articles and advice from time-to-time … and, of course, I do enjoy the occasions to catch up with friends from my professional sphere, too!  When I saw this article, Former Google Career Coach Shares A Visual Trick For Figuring Out What You Want To Do With Your Life, it literally had me thinking, “Why hadn’t I thought of this before?”.  I mean … come to think about it, in a past life I worked a lot with clients in outlining their user experience strategies, where I used much of a similar concept to help map out where visitors would navigate at the hint of each click.  Oh well, I guess I can’t have all of the genius ideas 🙂

Regardless of who is to claim this brilliant idea, it’s time to try it out.  So … as my last days of 2016 draw near, you can bet your Texas-sized stars I am going to be mind mapping like no other.  Hopefully Amelie will let me borrow her new sketch pad she received for Christmas!  Once I’m finished with my 2017 Goals I’ll post them for you to see.  And, if you’re so inclined to share, I’d love for you to share yours, too.  As a closing little reminder to why you give yourself the time to think, write, and post your goals: The Power Of Writing Down Goals.

Happy Mind Mapping!  XOXO, Bridge