If you’ve chatted with me lately, or followed my tweets on Twitter, then you probably know that I’ve gone gaga about mind mapping. Not Lady Gaga — the old fashioned kind of gaga.

I first tried mind mapping three years ago — using Mindjet to plan a family vacation to Oregon. But I’d jumped straight to the software without really understanding mind mapping, and I crashed into the mechanics…and burned. Then, last year, I tried using new mind mapping software to illustrate a project I was working on at work. That attempt may have helped me, but when I showed it to team members, it was greeted with profound silence, bewilderment, and polite smiles. I still hadn’t even tried to educate myself about mind mapping. But intuitively I knew that it’s important.

Now I’ve started to understand the Why and the How of mind mapping, and I see tremendous potential: For problem solving in the workplace, for communicating, and, personally, for learning, memory, and unlocking creativity. This weekend, I collaboratively mind mapped, with my family, an upcoming trip to California. It was a huge success, but I’m not going to share the final mind map here because…well…you really don’t need to know about my California plans (and dreams!). Besides, I’ve got something better to share.

I was fortunate enough to come across the work of Jane Genovese, of Learning Fundamentals in Australia. As part of her mission to help make learning more effective and fun, Jane has created beautiful and engaging mind maps on a broad range of topics. She was kind enough to allow me to re-post here her mind map on Behavioral Change Programs. Click on the map to open the full-sized version. Jane’s map is extraordinary in the thoroughness with which it depicts the elements of successful wellness programs, and I would recommend it to any health promotion professional — especially newcomers to the field. I hope you enjoy and learn from Jane’s mind map as much as I have. (And please be sure to visit her site. Lots of great mind maps and other innovative resources.)

I’ll be writing more about mind maps, and publishing my own, and hope to explore with you how we can use mind maps and other visual thinking tools to advance employee wellness (and, beyond that, human resources and organizations overall). I think we are just getting started and the possibilities are unlimited. What do you think?