When a decision feels tangled, try making a mind map

If you are trying to manifest something and you are stuck or don't even know where to start a Mind Map can help. Usually when we think about something we think about the whole thing. This can cause problems.

"I want to lose weight."

From afar that statment seems pretty clear but when you take a closer look at it there are a gazillion moving parts inside of it.

The same goes for manifestations of career.

"I want a job I adore."

Even if you can find the feeling of that, when you zoom in on the topic even just a little bit you might feel overwhelmed at all it entails.

"I want to buy a house."
"I want to hire a cleaning service."
"I want to get a new car."

Look more closely. There are swirls and movements and layers inside every want – even the desires that seem rather simple like "I want a new shirt I can wear to work". What does that mean? What kind of shirt? What price? What look? What color?

Nothing is just one thing.

Let me explain.

In 2015 I realized I wanted to buy a house. I had never owned one before and the idea intrigued me. What would it be like to be able to paint the walls whatever color you wanted and stay as long as you can stay? Grow things in a yard you kept year after year? Build a long-term plan around your idea of "home"?

But then the idea felt overwhelming at times.

O.M.G.

How do you do that house-buying thing? Mortgages and choices and long-term committment? My mind simultaneously snagged and ran rampant all at the same time. Was it the prospect of math or keeping it clean that daunted me or was it something else? Was getting a house in alignment with me? What comes next? Help!

That's when I learned how to do a Mind Map.

I have it somewhere here in my office... (Yes, the house I bought has an office for me! For me! Just for me! Muahahahaha!) but if I take the time to look for it I won't finish this post so I'll draw a new one on my computer instead. It's just an example and not completely filled in. Here it is. It's very fancy.

Here's how to make yours:

Mind Map Steps:

1. Get a piece of blank paper and draw a circle in the center. In that circle write what you want to manifest. Put a bit of feeling with it like: "A job I love" or "A life partner I adore and marry".

NOTE: While I made my Mind Map example online so I could put it in this post I recommed you use paper and pen/pencil. The process of writing is clarifying.

2. Draw a circle around that circle. In that circle write 2-3 things that are core concepts for what you want to manifest. Only write down things that feel good.

3. Around those circles on the paper, anywhere you want, start making lists. Brainstorm. Brain dump. Get out everything that comes to mind about that topic. For a job it could be:

• Commute time
• Dress code
• Salary
• Benefits
• Lunch options

For a change in weight it could be:

• Diet plan
• Cost of food
• Going out with friends to eat
• Enjoyment of food
• Knowing how to cook or prepare it
• Excercise
• Going to the gym
• Paying for the gym

Whatever comes to mind, jot it down. Don't edit yourelf. While the writing inside the circles has to feel good the lists outside of the circles do not. If it comes to mind, write it down.

4. After you have you have completed your brainstorming / brain dump take a look at everything you have written – really pause and look – and circle the concepts or ideas or items that don't feel good.

Those are your blocks.

You may be surprised at what you didn't circle. I know I was.

In my Mind Map for manifesting a house I assumed I would have an issue with keeping it clean (because it would be a bigger house than the one I was currently renting in the Bay Area, darnit). But no, that wasn't a problem. I thought it would be leaving my friends. But no, that wasn't an issue either. Although I would miss them I felt at peace with the choice to move (as the Bay Area wasn't where I saw my new home) and I knew they supported me 100%.

It wasn't the money. The mortgage. The math.

It wasn't the prospect of gutters. Or choices. Or committment.

It was leaving family.

Specifically, my amazing in-laws who lived 20 minutes from us in San Jose. I stared at that circle on my Mind Map around "local family" and I lost it. Suddenly I was 6 years old all over again moving from New Jersey to Michigan with my new step-dad and mom and sister to a state where we knew no one. I was bereft. And I couldn't imagine doing that to my kids.

I was in a class when I made this Mind Map and my sharing partner was such a loving, warm soul. She was also a grandmother who's story was perfect for me right then and there. (Thank you, Universe.) She put her hand on mine and said: "My daughter and grandkids moved away to buy a house. It's hard but I know it's the right thing for them. They have to live their life and do what is best for them, just as you need to do the same for you and your family."

I looked into her eyes and a peace decended around me. Instead of a big, tangled, scary mess the idea of moving and buying a house suddenly seemed...doable. I knew what was bothering me and so now I knew what to work on. I could do that.

I grieved, and I let go.

What followed was an amazing turn of events so miraculous you just can't doubt the Universe's brilliance when you hear it. You see, I did move to a new state and I did buy my dream house (with my very own office!) and my in-laws are still 20 minutes away. They moved too. And now they live in THEIR dream house.

So don't let a project you are working on, whether it's health, career, money, love, or life in general, feel like an overwhelming issue forever. Make a Mind Map and see what you really need to work on, and maybe even more importantly, what you don't.
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