Working the Puzzle of Personal Development
The Encouragement Express, "Bringing you encouragement from the simple things in life"
Ok. I’ll confess. I’m not a fan of puzzles.
They stress me out.
Trying to find a puzzle piece that’s playing hide and seek is not my idea of fun.
How many times were you in the closing seconds of working your puzzle, only to discover that the last piece is nowhere to be found?
But while I’m puzzled at puzzles, my wife thrives on them!
Right now, I’m eyeballing one of her artistic masterpieces – a glued 1,000-piece snowman that’s staring back at me as he rests on an easel by the front door.
I’ll soon scoot him under a bed until next year’s cold winter blast.
He’ll resume his position as the coolest puzzle in the house when I bring him out of hibernation.
Puzzles.
They offer multiple benefits.
For some people they’re stress reducers.
And there’s an argument to be made that working puzzles are calisthenics for the brain that may ward off dementia.
For some puzzle enthusiasts, sitting at a table for hours and hours on end, working a puzzle is right up there with going to a concert.
Then, puzzles are viewed as an expression of art without using the stroke of a pen, pencil, or brush.
So … for all the puzzle lovers out there, let me introduce you to someone special – John Spilsbury, the inventor of puzzles!
Let’s take a trip back in time.
Imagine you’re in London and it’s 1762.
It’s raining.
On the streets of London, you observe that there’s an expanse social barrier between the wealthy and well, everyone else.
Keep in mind that this is the era of “The British Industrial Revolution.”
Children as young as 4 or 5, who aren’t from the royal line or upper class, are working with their families trying to eke out a living.
They’re treated harshly and categorized as “property.”
The educational opportunities for most British kids are nonexistent.
But a palace kid is enjoying the privilege of receiving knowledge extensively in history, literature, and geography.
Spilsbury, an expert in cartography, longs that children learn geography.
So, he glues one of his maps on a piece of wood and delicately cuts each country from the map, resulting in a “Dissect,” the given name for today’s jigsaw puzzles.
Today, when children and adults fidget with cardboard puzzle pieces, they owe their finished project to John Spilsbury.
But in all the maze of puzzle pieces, where’s the lesson about personal development?
Sure, there’s the message of connectivity. Just as every piece must be connected to complete a puzzle, you and I should network with others to enjoy opportunities we’d not have otherwise. Opportunities that’d encourage personal development.
Or think about the lesson of cooperation. Joining forces to complete a puzzle can teach you about cooperation. Cooperation … working together with others … relationships, is a valued personal development skill.
Or maybe the focus should be on the significance of each puzzle piece. Each piece is unique and cannot be replaced. Your full personal development is tied to all your positive skills and traits. Use each one.
But the headliner in my post is about PATIENCE.
Anyone who’s engineered a puzzle has exercised patience.
Combining like pieces together takes patience.
Forming the border of puzzles takes patience.
Putting it all together TAKES A LOT OF PATIENCE.
And developing our skills and talents to go forward in life, to excel in our various fields of practice, requires patience.
You and I won’t achieve this in a day, a month, or even in a year.
Skillfully putting the pieces together daily = excellence in personal development.
And that requires PATIENCE.
Here’s your principle, plan, and a positive approach to follow.
Principle - Your personal development is a marathon requiring patience.
Plan - Patiently take small incremental steps in your personal development journey. By doing this you’ll be able to celebrate each skill and move forward to the next one. Tackling all skills at once promotes impatience. That’d be a grave mistake.
A Positive Approach to Follow - Remember that patience is like a guardrail, protecting you from crashing into the wall of discouragement in your personal development journey.
Patiently working my puzzle,
-Howell