One piece at a time…

How do we solve a jigsaw puzzle? We start with one piece at a time, and each one makes adding the next piece a little easier until we complete the puzzle.

Puzzles have a lot of components just like our lives. It is hard to focus on everything at once-relationships, personal development, work, school, and self-care just to name a few.

It is important to remember we can do anything, but not everything. And if we are worried about getting everything done right now, the truth is we will end up getting a lot less done and be more stressed along the way. Our minds will be distracted and not able to give each section the attention it deserves.

So we start with something small in our life that we can improve without a massive amount of time or effort and we commit to making it happen today. Maybe that means cleaning the house or going to the gym. The scale of the step doesn’t matter as much as its completion. Even the smallest changes can snowball into a new mindset that allows us to make more changes with less effort.

One Piece At A Time! We need to think of our personal growth in the same way. Each small change builds on the last and makes the next change even easier. The more changes we make, the more confidence we build and soon enough, we’re a different person. We’re no long overwhelmed by the thousand pieces, because we’ve experienced our own ability to achieve them.

Borders First! When we start solving a puzzle we clear a space big enough to put it together. The border defines a sacred space where we are getting ready to build our masterpiece. The borders can remind us of the boundaries we place in our own lives to stay focus on what is important to ourselves and our lives while upholding our rights. They ensure we don’t allow other things in interfere with our progress.

Know What You Are Making! Can you imagine getting a box of puzzle pieces without an idea of what the completed puzzle will look like? Life can sometimes feel this way, but we have the power to design what our life will look like.

We can choose what we want, what goals we want to aim for, what experiences we want to have, what paths we want to take.

So…both a puzzle and our lives take as long as they take. We just need to keep choosing, keep moving, and keep enjoying the process. And give thanks for the opportunity to do it!

The lesson I’ve learned is to enjoy the process with all of its uncertainties, problems and opportunities. Life is good, it’s rewarding, and it’s fun!

How is your life puzzle coming along?

What we can’t see…

Just because we can’t see something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Our breath exists, keeping us alive, even though we can’t see it. The wind exists, too, but we only know this because we feel it on our skin and hear it moving the leaves on the trees. All around us and within us are […]

4 wimpy words!

Most of us will agree that words have power-the power to inspire, the power to hurt, the power to compel, the power to enrage. And I think we would agree that some words are wimpy! Try: Try implies failure. If you say, “I’ll try to call you tomorrow,” the person hears “I’ll call you tomorrow.” […]

What makes you happy?

I read about an experiment involving elementary school students who were asked to itemize a list of their wants. No one wrote that he or she wanted to be happy or more loving. Their wants were things and events. And the same was true when high school and college students were asked. When the researchers […]

Stuff you didn’t know you didn’t know…

Food for thought? Food for amazement? I checked these out before including them. See what you think! The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this…) the percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and life rafts have in common? All were invented by […]

Appreciate: Two Meanings

The first meaning is “to be thankful,” the opposite of taking something for granted. The second meaning is “to increase in value” (as money appreciates in the bank). Combined, these two meanings point to a truth that has been proven repeatedly in research on gratitude: when we appreciate the good in our lives, the good […]

Want to change your habits?

I read about a surprising way to form good habits and break bad ones. The article said to change your habits, change your identity. The concept was a reminder that how we see ourselves can dramatically affect our habits. A paper published in 2011 by a team of Harvard and Stanford researchers found that people […]

Why ugly and slow is okay!

My sister is a lot better at knitting than I am. It is painfully obvious when she tackles a complex pattern, makes changes in it, and then finishes it before I’ve figured out how to get my project going. She’s a regular wizard at it! And by comparison I’m slow and my projects are, if […]

Luggage or Baggage?

It’s vacation time! Are you carrying luggage or your baggage with you? (And in case you’re wondering, I don’t mean the physical stuff!) Though near-perfect synonyms of each other, baggage has several additional meanings which luggage doesn’t share. We don’t know for sure whether the “bag” of baggage is the same as the English and […]

Here comes the sun!

Summer has finally arrived, even when the weather doesn’t seem to agree! And June to me is a month of celebrating Life! The recent graduates are beginning their new lives; we celebrate the masculine influences in our lives with Father’s Day; and the summer solstice brings the longest day of sunlight. I recently saw an […]