Mandala technique - Building systems
What is a Mandala?
Mandala is a geometric pattern which radiates outwards from a center. There are inner patterns outer patterns and boundary. It is found mainly in eastern religious traditions, representing individual or core ideas relating to broader perspective of the universe. As with everything else, we see more and more spread of these ideas over variety of cultures lately and nowadays you will find no designer who knows nothing about mandalas. But traditionally philosophers were more interested in these patterns including Carl Jung who famously used the mandala as a symbol in his psychological work. He considered spontaneously produced circular patterns potentially expressive of the self and psychological integration.
What is a system? A modern building.
A system is a collection with interactions of its components. Human body, a modern bridge or a skyscraper, a bicycle, an ecosystem can be considered as systems. The more fundamental component of a system is not only its individual parts, but the way the interact with each other. Once built a system can function with minimal maintenance, and interactions with outside. Sometimes they are so self-sustainable, that there is almost no interactions with the world. Consider a terrarium a closed ecosystem, where only little bit of sunlight necessary for it to sustain life.
How to use a mandala technique? in achieving goals.
Combining these two ideas of a mandala and system, you have a powerful technique to achieve your life goals. Achieving a goal is not about the goal itself but building a system around it considering all the facts. This system, if built comprehensively enough there is no way it is failed. Almost impossible. Consider you are going to build a skyscraper. If it to collapse in 10 years what a catastrophe right? So, engineers, calculate and measure the strength of every steel bar and every bolt nut and every gush of wind, and built it so it can withstand ten times of a gale. Similarly, if you have thought carefully about every little change your life should have to achieve your goal, then there is minimal risk of failure.
Using mandala
Let's say you want to get good grades this semester exam. You may thing, doing one or two things will do it for you. Wrong! getting good grades is not about waking up early every day or studying in the library every day. It is about at least 100 small steps that you do daily without fail to reach that goal, from drinking plenty of water and doing little bit of walk in the afternoon, to having good sleep. It is about everything, including what you are doing when you have been to a party with your friends.
To show you an example by creating a mandala draw a 3x3 grid. In the middle write down your goal in the periphery, write things you need to achieve to get to your goal. This will include 8 pre-requisites. And expand this grid to 9x9 grid. Now find and write what 8 things you need to do to achieve 8 things you previously mentioned in the inner circle. At the end of this exercise, you will end up with 64 things to do before even thinking about achieving your goal. Trust me I used this and it worked. I have been struggling to wake up early morning even romanticizing about it for a long time. And I did not know there were about 64 things to do to become an early riser. I can give you few ideas, on how I used mandala technique to build a system to get up early. Perhaps better would be you doing it practically yourself, as your goals and 64 things you do can be markedly different from mine. And remember these are not strict, but dynamic over time, you can adjust and adapt. Good luck with your mandala.
Mandala technique to build system. Example
Getting up Early.
Inner circle 8 Prerequisites.
Sleep at 9
Morning routine
Good sleep
Mindset and Identity
Failure and backup Plan
Tracking system
Motivation to wake up
Energy level and Food
Outer Circle Prerequisites
Sleep at 9 needs.
Prepare bet at 8
Relaxation meditation
Stopping social media and scrolling at 8
On bet at 8.50
Brush and wash
Dinner finished by 8.30
Keep alarm fruit and water by the working desk
Lights off at 9
Good sleep needs..
comfortable and tidy bed..
pee before bed..
phone on the table..
mental mapping of the day
etc. etc..
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