Whenever I feel like my focus is off, I’m binge-watching too much TV, scrolling too much on my phone, or over-isolating, I seek out activities to help ground myself and make space to change my system. Meditation in the form of breathing exercises helps when I’m feeling anxious, overwhelmed and agitated but not so much when I’m feeling derailed, foggy, or stuck. Puzzles, though, do wonders to re-center me. Connecting puzzle pieces slows me down, relaxes me, requires focus and thought, gives me a fairly quick sense of accomplishment, and reminds me how important it can be to trust the process.
I love puzzles and come from an esteemed line of puzzlers. My mom has been doing crossword puzzles and sudoku like a pro forever. Like many people of my vintage, I take on the New York Times puzzles daily, partly because I enjoy them and partly because they’re said to be good for cognitive health. I make my way through Wordle, Connections, and Strands every morning and Sudoku and The Mini every evening. But a 500-1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle does more for me than all the others combined. You may recall from an earlier post on books that I prefer a physical book to a digital alternative. In another post I wrote about living life using all of our senses so maybe the tactile aspect of holding a book or puzzle piece satisfies my sense of touch. But I suspect it’s more than that.
Better Health is Just a Puzzle Away
A 1,000 piece puzzle requires patience and persistence, automatically slowing down a fast-paced life. There are myriad health benefits associated with puzzles. In addition to giving you a break from screen time, a good old fashioned jigsaw puzzle can relax you, sharpen your memory, improve your motor skills, keep your brain healthy, and boost your analytic and problem solving skills. Jigsaw puzzles work the left, analytical side of your brain as you fit the pieces together and the right, creative side as you focus on the literal big picture. Puzzles can help reduce your stress, boost your mood, and improve your sleep.
A few nights ago, I sat down at my table and started to assemble a new puzzle. One of my daughters visited the next day. She walked in, nonchalantly picked up a puzzle piece, and checked to see if it would fit. Puzzles can be social activities that invite participation on the invitee’s terms. You can stop by, try to help, feel some sense of accomplishment if you find a piece that fits, and give your mood a quick boost.
Life Can Be … Puzzling
A puzzle is a solid metaphor for life. Sometimes life throws a lot at you at the same time. Similarly, pouring puzzle pieces out onto the floor or table can be messy and overwhelming. It can be challenging to figure out where to start. But if you work on one section at a time, you’ll likely find you can keep moving forward. Once you get started and gain momentum, the picture starts to appear and confidence in yourself starts to increase. You can do this. We can do this.
Trusting the Process and Learning From Mistakes
There are countless ways to approach the mess of puzzle pieces and every puzzler has their favorite. I separate all the pieces with a straight edge, frame the puzzle, and then fill it in. Two or three straight-edged pieces of the frame always seem to be missing. When my mind inevitably goes to a place where I’m certain my puzzle package is defective, I remind myself to trust the process. As much as I may feel certain I’ve checked every one of the remaining pieces for a straight edge, I know I’ve probably missed a few and they’ll turn up when they’re ready. We can’t always see as clearly through the mess as we believe we can. Pieces of the puzzle hide in plain sight all the time. The puzzle pieces of everyday life are sometimes equally obscured. Solutions often seem hidden until they formulate and make themselves known.
Sometimes it turns out a piece that seemed to fit perfectly actually didn’t and needs to be removed. It’s good that we tried. Life is full of mistakes. We learn from them and get smarter.
Then there’s that momentum when you know you’re close to the end. You’ve worked hard and overcome obstacles. Life and puzzles can be complicated but, with patience, you persevere. You did it and you feel great.
Puzzle Your Way to Mindfulness
Many people seem mystified by the notion of mindfulness as a practice. It’s often thought of in relation to meditation, which doesn’t work for everybody. Any activity that eases you into present-moment awareness and full concentration is a mindfulness activity. Mindfulness is essential for genuine self awareness and effectively changing our systems. Puzzling promotes mindfulness.
Earlier this week, I met a friend for lunch. She’d had a challenging couple of weeks and, without knowing this week’s blog topic, said that games on her phone weren’t doing it for her right now so she’s thinking of getting back into puzzles. She has a bag of lovingly-used jigsaw puzzles I gave her during the pandemic after I’d done them each a few times and felt ready to move on. She said she loves the sense of accomplishment she feels when she does a puzzle and the way the slow pace and focus calm her. Right?!
Puzzles may not be for everyone but there are mindfulness activities out there that work for each of us. Whatever works best for you is the right tool to add to your wellness toolkit.
Musical Playlist While You Ponder This Post
Puzzles Theme Song from How I Met Your Mother, Jigsaw Falling Into Place by Radiohead, The Missing Piece of the Puzzle by Tanya Tucker, The Puzzle Song by Shirley Ellis, Puzzles by The Yardbirds, Games Without Frontiers by Peter Gabriel, Video Games by Lana Del Rey, The Game of Love by Santana, Games People Play by Alan Parsons
Thinking and Trying
Something to think about: I was a keen observer and listener. I picked up on clues. I figured things out logically, and I enjoyed puzzles. I loved the clear, focused feeling that came when I concentrated on solving a problem and everything else faded out. – Sonia Sotomayor
Something to try: Maybe try a puzzle. If you love puzzles but only enjoy doing them once so you feel like they’re a waste of money, consider joining the Jigsaw Puzzle Swap Exchange. If you’re not ready to invest in a puzzle kit at all, would you consider a free online puzzle? You can try one here or here. Let me know what you think.
Join Our Tribe
I always feel smarter and stronger when I listen to and connect with wise people. My friends and fellow coaches Maria, Marguerite, and Lorin are among the wisest people I know. The four of us have joined together to bring you Four Wise Women, a podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. We use this space to share our thoughts, concerns, and joys relating to our journey through midlife. Whether you’re seeking guidance, validation, or simply the comfort of knowing you’re not alone, we hope you’ll tune in to be part of this community of wise women. We add new episodes on Thursdays.
Coaching Can Help
Are you interested in starting a mindfulness practice but finding it challenging to figure out the what and the how? There are many different activities you can incorporate into your daily routine to keep you present-focused. Contact me here and let’s talk about how coaching can help you design a mindfulness practice that works for you. The first session is 15 minutes over Zoom and it’s free.
I wish that I had the patience to be better at puzzles!