Mind Mapping Is An Effective Tool For Creative Thinking

January 27, 2009 by  
Filed under Mind Mapping

Are you gifted with innovative thinking? If you are you can take advantage of mind mapping because it would suit you perfectly. Mind maps consume skills found in imagination, creativity, flexibility, and organization of ideas. According to many psychological researches, creative thinking has 4 elements which include the use of shapes, colors, unusual elements, and dimensions. Aside from that, creative thinking can also adjust conceptual positions and create response to appealing objects. If you want to promote creative thinking, mind mapping is a very effective tool.

Mind mapping can aid in completing the thinking process. Mind map is considered as an essential tool for mnemonic principles and creative thinking. If you can apply the appropriate techniques and facilitate them correctly, individuals can create lots of innovative ideas; more than a group brainstorming session can generate.

Creative thinking has five stages:

• Mind mapping burst (Quick-Fire) – choose an interesting topic and draw a central image to represent it. You can use a blank paper or any other material that you can write on. The ideas that radiate from your mind should be indicated on the page. Try to generate ideas for twenty minutes. Even if some ideas seem absurd, jot them down because there are times when these ideas serve as the key to breaking bad habits and coming up with new perspectives.

• 1st Reconstruction and Revision – don’t over exercise your brain. You can take a break and then try to integrate the idea you’ve generated. Create another mind map but this time, try to categorize the preliminary ideas. You can build hierarchies and identical ideas should be given attention. Through mind maps, individuals can explore and grow.

• Incubation – when you’re at rest, running, or sleeping, there are times when you experience sudden realizations. In this stage, the thinking process can create probable breakthroughs.

• 2nd Reconstruction and Revision – do another mind map burst because at this stage, you have a fresher perception. Integrate all the ideas and info found in the initial mind maps and try to create final comprehensive mind map.

• Final – after you’ve created a comprehensive map, you can now look for the realization, decision, and solution since this was your original goal.

These are the five stages in the creative thinking process. So you see, mind mapping is really an essential tool in creative thinking. In recent years, mind mapping has become easier as compared to the time it was first introduced. There is now software focused mainly on mind mapping. The software is widely available online.  Computer-based mind mapping is just like the traditional method of mind mapping. It is up to you whether you will make use of the traditional way or the modern way of mind mapping.

You may like to try to experience the 5 stages of creative thinking. You will surely be surprised with the explosion of innovative and creative ideas. For those who don’t have any experience with mind mapping, you can consult the experts online or you can find a local mind mapping expert.

Let mind mapping help you in uncovering your creative thinking so that you can use it in your everyday life. Search the internet now for some mind mapping resources.

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