Iterative Mind Mapping to Overcome Emotions
The iterative mind mapping technique is not only great because of its learning capabilities but also because of its beauty in dealing with emotions. It can help you overcome motivation, feeling overwhelmed and the fear of not getting it right.
no motivation
There are times when you are motivated and can jump right into learning. But there are also times of no motivation. It is difficult to sit down and start learning if you have no motivation at all.
But don’t depend on motivation. Just start small. Small enough so that almost no motivation is needed. After starting, your motivation will build up and you will continue learning. The beginning is the most difficult part.
But how can you start small if learning is this huge, complex activity which requires a lot of energy? The iterative approach can help with this. It can give you a low enough bar to jump right in.
Don’t aim to create a huge mind map or learn about a complete topic. Aim low. Aim to create a small map first. Aim to add only a few new branches to your map. Aim to clean up an existing map or review one specific area.
After starting with no motivation, the motivation will build itself up. You will come across questions or gaps in your understanding which inevitably will trigger your curiosity and help you keep learning. So don’t rely on motivation, rely on just starting. Even if it is for a minute.
overwhelmed
While learning and working on your mind map, it can get overwhelming. If you feel overwhelmed, it can be a clue for a messy mind map. Which means a cleanup is needed.
Group parts of your mind map together to make it simpler. Refine and restructure your mind map if you think other connections make more sense now that you have more knowledge. Get rid of too fine details if they clutter your mind map. But don’t just delete them. Create separate notes for them and link to them from your mind map.
Restructuring and simplifying will help you overcome feeling overwhelmed.
fear
While learning, a feeling of fear can also creep up. A fear of not understanding. A fear of not getting it right. But don’t worry. You won’t get it right anyway the first time. So don’t aim for perfection.
Just start with what you think you know and understand. Because of the iterative approach, you will iterate anyway over your mind map multiple times. Each iteration helps you correct mistakes and close gaps in your understanding. Just start and refine it through iteration.
