For a very long time, the whole lot was nearly picture-perfect for John Diggs. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he earned a scholarship to play soccer at Washington State College and performed a number of years within the NFL. That profession resulted in 1995, when his proper knee was reconstructed—however this was solely the start for Diggs, who pivoted, swift and nimble as a operating again, right into a mortgage profession. Finally, he constructed one of many largest mortgage brokerages in southern California, dwelling the snug millionaire way of life along with his spouse and children. 

“Then the whole lot melted away within the mortgage meltdown. I actually misplaced the whole lot,” he says, emphasizing every syllable to make clear the dimensions of the loss. He misplaced his job, his spouse, entry to his youngsters. “I used to be principally compelled to maneuver again into my mom’s home and sleep on the sofa that I purchased her.”

All he took with him within the transfer had been some health club garments, his bike and a “big-ass field” bursting with all of the motivational CDs, DVDs and books he’d accrued over time. A lot of these books and different items of media had helped him obtain the life he’d constructed at the start fell to items. “I knew I needed to revisit the data in that field to rebuild my life,” he says.

Nestled inside among the many Tony Robbins and Wayne Dyer objects within the assortment, Diggs discovered one thing known as The Thoughts Map Guide. Any person had gifted it to him someplace alongside the road, and he’d by no means actually checked out it… till now. And it gave him an concept. He determined to thoughts map the contents of his big-ass field.

What’s “thoughts mapping”?

If you happen to’re not acquainted with the idea, “thoughts mapping” is a technique of organizing and displaying data in a visible method. A easy thoughts map begins with a theme on the middle, and associations linked with the theme department out from there, with further branches relating to every concept till you’ve acquired one thing that resembles an internet. 

It took Diggs three months to learn and map the whole lot in his self-improvement field, and by the point he completed, he’d created a visible file of many years value of knowledge from main authors and specialists on motivation and self-improvement. A number of months after that, he’d moved out of his mother’s place and landed a brand new job with a six-figure wage. 

“It actually reworked who I’m,” he says. “I went from rags to riches in eight, 9 months, and I do know it was particularly due to the mind-mapping course of.” 

The expertise caught with him, and over time, he continued utilizing thoughts maps to information his decision-making and sort out powerful challenges. Diggs found visualizing data this manner gave him a way of readability—and he had enjoyable doing it! Finally, he developed his personal spin on thoughts mapping—which he’s dubbed “mappineering”—that he now shares with others to assist them obtain a life they love. 

Get severe about your objectives with mappineering

Now, when you are acquainted with the idea of thoughts mapping, you’ll notice the best way Diggs interprets and teaches it differs a bit from its conventional functions. 

“Most individuals that know of it use it for venture administration, brainstorming, word taking—these sorts of issues,” he explains. 

Possibly you’ve had a school professor who inspired it as a option to visualize a lecture or a boss who sketched one on a whiteboard throughout a gathering. “Getting full with points in your previous, or aim setting, or decision-making, or problem-solving—most individuals don’t use it in that method,” Diggs provides.

That’s why he refers to his strategies by the title mappineering—a portmanteau of “mapping” and “engineering.” Slightly than a stagnant sheet of notes meant to jog your reminiscence or provide help to examine for a check, mappineering refers to an lively set of phrases and phrases which can be utilized on a private degree to assist folks obtain their goals.

John Diggs’ “I Am” thoughts map

Diggs says one of the best and most impactful method he’s discovered to implement this for self-actualization is to start out with what’s known as an “I Am” thoughts map. On this occasion, you are the theme of your map.

The concept is to “get clear on who you might be first,” he explains. “And what I’m discovering is, most individuals have by no means consciously sat down and mapped out what’s most vital to them of their lives. What are the important thing elements of your life because it pertains to well being, wealth, success and happiness?”

“I’ve folks begin with that as a result of as soon as they get clear with that, then it’s simpler for them to set objectives which can be extra in alignment with who they intend to be,” he continues. 

For instance, as we enter this plan-making, self-improving time of yr, let’s say your decision is “go to the health club extra” or “get in form.” That’s , concrete aim—and a noble factor to try for! 

However a couple of days or perhaps weeks in, you discover your dedication starting to falter. Going to the health club doesn’t fulfill you, and while you go away every weight coaching session, you notice you don’t really feel something however drained. If you happen to discover sticking with this aim to be further difficult, that might be as a result of it doesn’t actually align with or complement who you might be.

John Diggs desires to assist everybody mappineer their option to happiness

Finishing John Diggs’s I Am map first helps give folks a greater sense of who they’re at their core and, subsequently, what they need. Possibly what’s actually vital to you is to be wholesome, not essentially to go to the health club. What else may that appear like? Might it enrich you extra to cook dinner wholesome meals at house quite than eat out? Possibly a stroll across the neighborhood to jog your mind and get your legs shifting can be extra sensible and rewarding? Or possibly, in your case, “well being” doesn’t even apply as a lot to bodily well being. Possibly what’s most vital to you this yr is focusing in your psychological or non secular well being. 

Mappineering is supposed to present you readability on the issues that may really deliver you pleasure and, in doing so, offer you extra management over your life.

This mind-set will also be the framework that guides your decision-making course of extra broadly, whether or not that pertains to concrete objectives you’ve set or the way you navigate your day-to-day life. 

Mappineer your option to success

Let’s say you’ve linked footage of the books you need to learn to the “happiness” part of the I Am map. That’s a visible which may pop into your head as you enter the second hour of a TikTok scrolling session, serving to you to refocus your time and power.

“I’ve additionally been discovering it very helpful when life throws us curveballs,” Diggs provides. There are extra thoughts maps and visualization instruments on his web site meant to assist of us navigate significantly troublesome instances, whether or not that’s a battle with a co-worker or beloved one or the lack of a job—or having to maneuver again in along with your mother.

“When I’ve folks thoughts map a selected drawback, it releases the emotion of that drawback,” Diggs explains, “as a result of it’s now not a first-person situation. They’re seeing the issue in a third-person place.”

In the end, mappineering is supposed that can assist you engineer a life you like, not only a life you’re in as a result of it’s snug or as a result of inertia introduced you there. All of it comes again to the themes Diggs noticed as he dug by way of that big-ass field, connecting the knowledge of well-known motivators from Brian Tracy to Les Brown.

“I began to see that the final word aim that every one of them had been speaking about is that we should always love life,” Diggs says. “Love and dwell our greatest lives.”

Photograph by JLC Imagery.

Cassel is a Minneapolis-based author and editor, a co-owner of Racket MN, and a VHS collector.