Life Lessons From a Puzzle
I am a huge puzzle fan. I think they are incredible. I love all the designs and details. I love the way you can get lost in them, like a good book. I also love the way they turn up my competitive edge. When I start a puzzle, you know I’m going to finish it. Even if it means staying up until 2 am and throwing off my whole sleep schedule, it’s worth it. Game on.
However, a couple of years ago I sat down to do a 2,000-piece puzzle with the assumption that I’d finish it that night like I always do. But I hadn’t done a puzzle in a while, so I didn’t realize how big of a feat this would be. If you’re not familiar with puzzles, this is equivalent to running a marathon in the puzzle world.
I quickly realized that I was in over my head. But I also realized that this puzzle had a lot to say to me. You see, I was in a hard place during this time. Struggling with my job, which was affecting me mentally. I was feeling far from myself.
But here, this puzzle gave me a blueprint for how to come out the the other side. How to come back to me.
“Start with what you know.” I exhaled and thought, gathering up all the edge pieces. Forming a border. There was so much I didn’t know about this puzzle. There were so many unknowns in my life. But focusing in on what I did know gave me momentum to start, to move forward.
“Just work piece, by piece.” When it felt overwhelming, and I felt like I had barely accomplished anything, I just took it one piece at a time. One piece felt manageable. One piece, I could do. Don’t worry about the full picture, just put one foot after the next.
“Call in your friends for help.” I needed an extra hand. Sure, I had made a large dent but this type of puzzle, this mountain I faced, I couldn’t overcome alone. It required help. So I pushed aside my pride and made some calls. It’s okay to ask for help. Sometimes you need to ask for help.
“See, you can do hard things.” After hours of laboring, over weeks of work, I placed the final piece into the puzzle. I celebrated and cheered. Floored and overjoyed. Here, through an ordinary puzzle, I was reminded that I can do hard things. That I can, and that I will. And just like I had overcome this puzzle, I would overcome this season of life too.
There you have it. Lessons from a puzzle.
