Challenge your assumptions

Mind Your Own Map | No. 1 🧠

Hello, reader!

When I began Nōto last week, I knew my husband would subscribe… but I didn’t expect to have all of you join in, too. Thank you for the support! 🥹

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Also, as a reminder: I want this to be an interactive newsletter! Please contribute with your thoughts, experiences, or questions in the comments on any post if you feel comfortable. No pressure either way, of course. I’m just happy you’re here.

Now on to the mind map 🗺️

Some time last spring or summer, I sat in a coffee shop, itching to write and draw. I remembered

Austin Kleon

’s post about mind maps and how he uses this visual note-taking process to get unstuck. It’s a way to free-write and make unusual connections:

How to make a map of your mind

Since I’d only shared my first map with a few people, I wanted to go ahead and put it here as well.

A peek at my mind 💭

As I drew, I tried to be open to whatever popped up—even if it was random.

When I reference this map, I’m reminded of where I was and why specific topics or interests stuck in my brain’s file cabinets. I had felt dissonance between my changing beliefs and others’ expectations for me. As a recovering people-pleaser, deviating at all felt wrong. But here we are one year later, and I can see how those internal shifts have brought me closer to a healthy life.

When you challenge your assumptions or long-held perspectives, you might want to magic eraser anything that feels uncomfy. Growing isn’t a squeaky-clean process! Your life doesn't have to be either.

Below are 12 favorite resources connected to this map. I want to know if you see something new or helpful or even challenging!

Explore my source notes 🔎

1. Rebekah Taussig’s essay for TIME on why kindness toward disabled people can be complicated.

2. An older interview with Mari Katayama on using her body to make art.

3. Vulnerable Communion, a past read exploring the theology of disability and hospitality that I think about a lot.

4. The Biggest Story, a stunning children’s book about redemption.

5. Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, a novel following several generations of family trauma, dreams, and identity.

6. Families, Families, Families! by Suzanne and Max Lang highlights the beauty of diverse families to young kids.

7. Cards for Humanity, a brilliant tool to guide designers through thinking and creating inclusively.

8. José Torre’s opinion on what makes great designers.

9. This management philosophy by Kim Scott introduced me to a new way of receiving and offering feedback in the workplace.

10. Raindrop.io is a bookmark manager and the long-sought-after answer to my digital disorganization.

11. The Art of Noticing
    by
    Rob Walker
    for exploring and paying closer attention to life.

12. The School of Life’s animated video on how listening as discovery is one of the keys to a good society.

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I’d like to make Mind Your Own Map a regular series. For now, I’ll share a new mind map every month. With this cadence, we can see what new topics surface and what’s worth revisiting.

If you haven’t made a mind map before, I suggest starting with Kleon’s 6-minute video on the subject. Creating mine was surprisingly therapeutic, and I think you’ll enjoy it, too! You’re welcome to come back here to share your source notes or findings. 🤗

Mind Your Own Map is a monthly prompt to visualize and connect what we learn, think, and experience.

Tell us in the comments:
🗣 What stands out from my mind map or notes?
👀 If you were to make your own map today, what might you find?

Till next time!
—E.T.

PS. Enjoyed this post? Let me know by clicking that little heart. 💛

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