Mental Mapping – The Art of Mind-ful Living
By DB Latimore
Chicago is one of my favorite cities! During a recent visit (we visit at least once a year), my husband and I were taking a casual stroll on the pier off of Lake Michigan. Along the way we came upon a young dancer standing on a boulder just off the pier into the lake but close enough that she could climb back on with ease. We stopped to watch her as she posed in a beautiful arabesque. Her position was worthy of attribution to that of an Alvin Ailey dancer. As she posed for the photographer, her concentration was unbreakable. As we continued to watch, two of her young friends began to chant to her to “do a handstand” (remember she is standing on the edge of a boulder). After a few moments of the chanting her concentration was broken and we could clearly see the mental mapping occurring. Looking into her eyes and watching her facial expressions it was evident that she was processing the pros and cons of their request. Just when it looked like she was going to do it, the photographer said to the young friends to climb over and spot her. Their reaction/look was one of wonder that he would make such a ridiculous suggestion; at that point the dancer resumed her pose – concentration restored.
What is Mental Mapping? Think about the phrase often uttered when we don’t understand something – “wait I need to wrap my mind around that” or when we are in the grocery store and we see a colleague from work and cannot make the mental connection of where we know that person from. This is associated with Mental Mapping. Mental Mapping is a person’s point of view/perception of their area of interaction. It is how we perceive the world; the intersection of objective knowledge and subjective perception. We all have mental maps. Mental Maps help us to make sense of objective knowledge (time/space) and subjective perception.
I started the column with Chicago is one of my favorite cities; as part of my mental map, I am able connect associations with the city of Chicago and determine that it was a favorable experience and therefore it is one of my favorite cities. Let’s look at the dancer on the boulder. She knows her space and had a positive experience when striking her pose but when the chatter of her friends distracted her, she processed that space differently and understood that performing a hand stand in that space might not lead to a favorable experience. These two are examples of the connectivity between objective knowledge and subjective perception.
In our careers, we operate on auto-pilot. We know the job, we know the location, we know the route to take to get us to and from work and we have a connection with associates in that place we call work. Given what we know, we typically assign perceptions and appropriate behaviors for that environment. We become distracted and potentially derail our careers when an unexpected stimuli is introduced into our clearly defined space. Disruption may occur in the form of a new boss, a bothersome colleague with values and behaviors not aligned with yours, unclear or changing job expectations, and the list goes on…. How we manage our mental maps is through the art of living mindfully.
Mindfulness or mind-ful living is emerging as a critical skill necessary to be productive. It is more about living in the moment- by being more aware and accepting of your thoughts, feelings and actions. Combining Mental Mapping with Mind-fullness we increase our ability to achieve a positive experience.
How do I obtain the skill or art of mind-ful living? Studies have shown that by clearing your mind, focusing on one thing at a time, and creating a habit of being in the present moment at all times will dramatically increase your energy, health, mood, well-being, and overall enjoyment of life. Aside from those powerful benefits, being mindful or ‘in the present moment’ helps you to navigate the world around you professionally, personally and publicly.
To receive activities on Living Mindfully, visit us @ https://dblatimorepsg.coachesconsole.com/v2/web/are-you-tuned-in.html
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