Whether you use digital or old-fashioned paper maps, there’s no question that they are an indispensable tool for navigation.
It’s likely that you have at least two different maps on your phone. If you use an iPhone you probably have at least Apple Maps and Google Maps. If you drive, you might also have Waze.
Why do you need multiple maps?
Even though the maps are depicting the same territory, they illustrate that territory differently.
3 Core Functions of Maps
Maps have 3 core functions:
(1) Orientation. A map can show you where you are.
(2) Points of Interest. A good map can orient you and guide you to points of interest that you want to explore more fully.
(3) Show What’s In Your Blind Spots. A map can show you what might be around the corner but out of your range of vision.
The Map is Not the Territory
As the adage reminds us, “the map is not the territory.”
The maps may be different, but the territory is the same.
If you really want to learn your way around a new area, studying a map will only take you so far.
The best way to learn your way around an area is to walk it. Allow yourself to explore. Turn down random streets and see what you find. Get lost and find your way back.
Maps can help in this endeavor, but they can’t substitute for walking the streets. Maps inherently have limits.
That said, maps give us a head-start to navigating a territory. If someone else has already explored the terrain and mapped it out, why not leverage their work as a starting point in our own journey?
Read: The Crucial Factor That Makes Maps Useful
Personality and Behavior Maps
Maps of physical terrain aren’t the only maps we have available to us.
Personality and behavior assessments such as DISC, Myers-Briggs, StrengthsFinder, and Enneagram also function as maps. They depict archetypal behaviors.
These personality maps can illuminate things we might not have realized were there, they can show us aspects of our tendencies we might take for granted, and they can orient us to a certain part of ourselves.
But just like with maps of physical terrain, it’s important to remember that the map is not the territory — it’s a starting point for navigating the territory.
If you really want to know yourself, you must do the inner work of exploring the terrain.
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