I love puzzles! They are amazingly entertaining and extremely useful toys/tools to help improve many functions in the brain (particularly the executive function - the boss who organizes everything)! They are a great gift to give to children!
So, how can a puzzle help me solve my problems? My real life problems?
I use the strategies that work really well to solve a puzzle and apply it to my personal problems! How?
I start from the border/ frame- because it is the obvious pieces that I can easily identify and put together. Now I have a frame to work with. I look at the frame of the problem. The basis or foundation of it.
I group the pieces by color/arrange by similar patterns- puzzles usually have a pattern from the picture and I can also easily identify what patterns go together (like blue sky; green grass, brown trunks, red bricks or whatever is in my picture). In life it will be problems that might be together in the area of communication; career; family or other. I group them to identify similar patterns in my life.
I Check the shape for complimentary pieces that can be paired or fit together. In life I can check for thoughts and attitudes that can be paired and fit together. By trial and error I might see that for some results I need to have a different thought to accompany the action. For example if my problem is that I need more money, how am I going to fit that with doing exactly the same I do to earn money? I have to think and try different things, maybe look for another job or do other things that can bring a second income.
I look for unique elements to be isolated and resolved first. In the puzzle there might be a photo of an animal so I know that the animal will have one nose; two eyes; and many other features that I can easily identify and put together. In life I always have unique features that can help me identify the solution right-away. It might be a resource or something immediately available to help me with my problem. With the example of money, it could be that I have an unique gift that I can use to make extra money.
I position pieces according to level of difficulty- from easy to hard. That way I stay motivated and see results even before I am finished resolving the entire puzzle. In life I also start from the simplest problems and accomplish my goals, creating realistic tasks and actions that I will do, and with that I can stay motivated to keep going and achieving bigger goals. Step by step from the easiest to the hardest...
Never give-up! The solution always exists and he puzzle can be solved! In life is the same, If i decide to never give-up and continue to look for the solution, I will eventually reach it!
And there is no bigger satisfaction than to see that I put the puzzle together! I did it! I am consistently grateful for sticking to it long enough and seeing the result I expected unfolding right before my eyes. In life it is also the same. When we see the expected/ positive result unfolding and we are achieving our goals and dreams because we are resolving the problems that normally block us, the thrill of the small success will propel us to do the next step and keep going until we realize that dream!
I think it is very important to be grateful for every step! As we move along and get one piece of the puzzle to fit, we say thanks! That small piece is no longer lost or out of place and there are less pieces figure out before I arrive at a solution. So, gratitude is essential for any and all small steps that I conquer in the path towards the goal.