Life Lessons From Building Puzzles

I have been a puzzle geek since I was little.

Recently, I have fallen in love with wooden puzzles.

The one pictured below comes from Liberty Puzzles, and has incredibly unique shapes -- people, animals, etc.

Another favorite is Quordle Puzzles, which are much smaller, and great for doing in an evening, when I don't have much time, or I don't want to take up the whole coffee table with the puzzle.

Here are some lessons that I have taken from my decades long interest in doing puzzles:

🩷 Sometimes the next piece (step) is closer than you think.
🩵 When feeling stuck, sometimes the best thing to do is walk away for a while.
💜 Patience pays -- often searching for one piece can create a cascade of momentum to move you forward.
💚 Even if they look alike, most pieces (at least in these puzzles) are completely unique.
💛 Focus can be highly effective.
🧡 Sometimes the best way to start is from the inside out, rather than the outside in.

There is also a strong connection to my love of puzzles and my love of reading.

I read a lot of non-fiction, as you know, and some of the ideas and lessons across books are the exact same.

But like a puzzle piece, sometimes the different shape of the ideas, when paired together, can create an image that you couldn't see with the one piece alone.

👉 Do you like puzzles?

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