Browse through a selection of magazines, brochures and newspapers. Use scissors to snip out words and images that appeal to you, or that seem to encapsulate your life experience. At this stage, you do not need to rationalize or justify your choices, but simply react instinctively to the material before you. Choosing, without verbalizing, allows the images to appeal directly to your subconscious mind.
Arrange your cuttings on a large sheet of paper. Experiment with the arrangement, adding personal photographs where they seem appropriate. You could set out your images chronologically, making a personal timeline to illustrate your past, describe your present and imagine your future. Or, you might draw a large circle in the center of your sheet and arrange the images along spokes radiating from that circle. This design is sometimes called a mind map. Later, you could place notes about your life goals in the center circle. If you find another arrangement of the images more helpful than these examples, this is equally valid.
Write captions for the images you have chosen on squares of colored paper and add them to the growing collage of pictures and words. It may help to think specifically about people, places and events that are important to you and to write captions about them. At this point, you are beginning to analyze your instinctive choices. A life map offers a way to focus your thoughts and capture ideas and feelings on paper, a process which Tristan Loo of The Self Improvement Association describes as: "One of the simplest, yet most powerful tools for goal achievement that you can have."
Write statements that sum up your identity on separate colored squares of paper. Typically, you might begin with phrases such as: "I am ...", "I have ...", "I like ..." or "I believe ..." Add these statements to your life map, wherever seems appropriate.
Write questions you want to answer about the future course of your life on separate colored squares of paper. Typical questions might be: "What single thing would improve my life right now?" or "What is the biggest challenge facing me?" or "Where would I like to be in five years' time?" Add your questions to the life map wherever they seem appropriate.
Glue the images and notes to the large sheet of paper when you are satisfied with the way they are arranged.
Draw lines and arrows to link your images and notes where you can see a relationship between them. For example, you may spot a link between a note about your beliefs and an image of a particular person or place. Making these links can help you think creatively about different aspects of your life and may reveal new insights.
Write instructions to yourself about what you should do next in life on separate colored squares of paper. Aim to be positive and specific in describing these goals. Avoid negatives such as: "Stop being so lazy!" and choose a specific instruction about what you should do instead, such as: "Apply for the degree course at ..." Paste your instructions onto your life map.