Mental Maps: How Can They Help Us in Times of Uncertainty?
By Paola Knecht
As a collective society, we’re experiencing uncertainty and anxiety like never before around the world.
We have so much information at our disposal, we’re on the verge of suffering from “Chronic Information Fatigue Syndrome.”
I’m sure you can recognize its symptoms:
- Difficulty sleeping
- Difficulty concentrating
- A weakened immune system
- Difficulty thinking clearly and making decisions
With so much information coming at us at lightning speed, we need to take new and radical measures in the way we process information so we can make better decisions with greater clarity—and make choices that are better suited to our own reality.
That’s where our mental maps come into play. Mental maps are the “internal guides” that form in our minds based on a combination of past experiences, beliefs, and behavioral models that have been directly (or indirectly) chosen by us. They’re part of what you call your personality.
Normally, these mental maps help us deal with our basic, daily affairs. But what happens when we have to face more complex situations, whose scope is much greater than our own capacity for understanding?
Are our mental maps helping us in this case, or, on the contrary, are they generating more fear and uncertainty?
How to assess and challenge your mental maps
The best way to assess and challenge your own mental maps is to ask: “How can I view this situation differently? How can I see the world from a higher perspective beyond my own perception of things?”
Changing a mental map isn’t easy, but it’s possible with a little discipline and determination. An easy way to start is with these six techniques:
- Look for radical opinions. What opinions are currently contradicting the “status quo”? What do the opinion holders see that you don’t see? What can you learn from them?
- Be observant and discover new things. British naturalist Charles Darwin was a great observer of his surroundings. It’s said that he kept meticulous notes about each experience and observation, which allowed him to connect information and detect patterns that later led him to develop the famous theory of natural selection.
What are you observing around you? What do you observe on the streets, in the parks, in your community?
How can you broaden your perspective and powers of observation? How can you look beyond your education, where you live, or your culture to expand your view of a problem or situation?
- Recognize barriers. What motivates you to follow certain beliefs over others? What barriers in the world prevent you from seeing beyond your own beliefs? How can you view those barriers differently?
- Destroy your old mind maps. Certain situations force us to act in ways we’ve never acted or do things we’ve never done before. In these cases, a radical behavioral change is necessary.
For example, if looking at social media for two hours a day causes more anxiety than tranquility, you need to break the habit of checking your accounts all the time and, instead, do something that brings you more peace, such as reading or exercising.
- Embrace moments of crisis. Moments of crisis help us question if our mental maps push us to deal with a situation in a positive way, or if they plunge us into a state of confusion and anxiety. Be honest with yourself and seek the strength and courage to face these new paradigms.
- Maintain the ability to “zoom in” and “zoom out.” When analyzing a problem, you want to “zoom-out” to see the whole picture without losing the details that dictate your actions when you “zoom in.”
How to manage new information
In addition to recognizing and challenging your mental maps, you can also take steps to manage the information you receive. One method that works well is to pass new information through a series of filters.
Ask yourself:
- What’s important to me, and how does this new information fit into that?
- How can I use my intuition to accept certain types of information and reject others?
- Is the amount of information I’m receiving making me feel paralyzed? Can I digest it differently? Can I give myself more time to reflect and make conclusions before acting irrationally?
- Am I viewing new information through a negative and fatalistic lens, or through a positive and constructive one?
- What information am I sharing with others? How does sharing this information change things?
Our choices make a difference
The truth is that no one knows what the future will bring. Despite these uncertainties, we have the responsibility to act consciously and in favor of not only our own interests but also the interests of humanity. We can make choices today to build the best possible future. It’s in our hands.
We often think that a single person can’t change the world. Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, invites us to reflect on this:
We may sometimes feel that we can’t do much as individuals, but humanity is made up of individuals; we can make a difference. As individuals, we can influence our own families. Our families can influence our communities, and our communities can influence our nations.
Achieving a better world begins with reviewing and improving one thing: our own mental maps.
PAOLA KNECHT is a certified leadership, transformational, and self-development coach and author of The Success Mindset: Take Back the Leadership of Your Mind. Learn more at my-mindpower.com.