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Using mind maps to represent and resolve problems
Mind maps have many applications in resolving problems and is a useful technique that improves the way you take notes,
and enhances your creative problem solving. By using Mind Maps, you can quickly identify and understand the structure of information.
Mind Maps encourage creative problem solving, and they hold information in a format that your mind finds easy to remember and quick to review.
They show the relative importance of individual points, and the way in which facts relate to one another.
It's important to know how all parts of a problem are interconnected. Combining a variety of mind map strategies with creative
techniques can help to find a solution to problems.
A mind map is 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 in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing.
The way we associate ideas and concepts in our minds, forming patterns which are reinforced by experience, often makes it hard
to see common situations in a new light.
Relationships between information which are new or seem 'unlikely', and ideas
which appear irrelevant, may be either consciously excluded or not triggered from memory because of their weak associations with the situation.
To find creative solutions to our problems we need to escape habitual ways of looking at situations.
Mind map models give shape and form to information. This makes it easier to remember and creatively build on ideas. The elements of a given mind map
are arranged intuitively according to the importance of the concepts and can highlight gaps in our information.
Mind Mapping is a way of
creating pictures that show ideas in the same way that they are represented in your brain.
Your brain uses words, pictures, numbers,
logic, rhythm, color and spacial awareness to build up unique pictures of information. The ideas are linked together in a way that makes it easy
to understand and remember.
In most situations you will find it helpful to use a mind map model to represent the parts of
a problem, there are many different types, composed variously of words, graphics, symbols, and so on.
These can be used to represent/symbolise problems which have common elements linked by the same relationships.
One of the most effective mind maps is the Force Field Analysis diagram
which can be used to represent the dynamics of situations.
This would symbolise the energy and balance between the sets of forces.
The driving forces are those which energise or create and push the equilibrium in the direction needed to achieve the goal.
Emotional blocks can be difficult to overcome because they require a
change in attitude, which may take some time to learn.
Not seeing all the relationships between different parts of the problem.
The human mind can focus on only a
small amount of information at one time, so that we often find it difficult to hold a complete and detailed
mental picture of a problem in our minds.
Analytical or logical thinking includes
comparing, contrasting, evaluating and selecting. It provides a logical framework for
problem solving and helps to select the best alternative from those available by narrowing down the range
possibilities.
Creative thinking is a process, using the imagination to create a
large range of ideas for solutions. It requires us to look beyond the obvious, creating ideas which may, at first,
seem unrealistic or have no logical connection with the problem.
Effective problem solving requires a controlled mixture of analytical and creative thinking
and would include:
Intuition - the ability to draw conclusions based on impressions and feelings rather than hard facts.
It is a characteristic of right-brain thinking and some people rely on it more than others.
Incubation - the period between stopping conscious work on a problem and the time when we become aware of a solution or part solution.
People struggling with problems often suddenly become aware of a solution after a period of incubation, during which the mind is occupied by other things.
Invention - the creation of new, meaningful ideas or concepts.
Mind Maps are useful techniques for
looking at all the factors for and against a plan.
Where you have decided to carry out a plan, Mind Maps helps you identify positive changes that you could make.
For more information: www.mindmapping.com
