I’m Puzzled - Grasshopper

“I’m puzzled.” That’s an old-school way of saying, I have no idea what to do next.

And I’m guessing you’ve been puzzled, too. 

Me? Plenty of times.

It’s that feeling that something’s missing – like we’re close to an answer, but not quite there. 

Almost like working on the sky section of a 2000-piece jigsaw puzzle. You know the piece has to exist . . . but you can stare at that table all day and still not find the right shade of blue.

At that point we’re not just puzzled – we’re flummoxed. Great word, right? It means we should be able to figure it out, but the answer keeps slipping through our fingers.

So how do we get un-puzzled?

Well, I don’t know if my method will work for you, but it’s saved me more than a few headaches.

Step away from the puzzle. Completely.

Put it on pause and go do something totally unrelated – wash dishes, tighten a loose drawer handle, jump in the shower, take a walk. Anything that doesn’t involve thinking about the problem.

But before you do, make a simple request to your creative self: “Work on this while I’m busy doing something else.” You’re setting an intention.

That’s it. Then fully shift your attention to the new activity.?No multitasking. No mental tug-of-war. Just be where you are.

For me, it often happens in the pool. I swim laps at the Y several times a week, and when I’m wrestling with a problem, I dedicate the swim to it – not by thinking about it, but by not thinking about it. I set the intention . . . then I swim.

And more times than I can count, the answer doesn’t show up in the water – it shows up later. Maybe in the locker room. Maybe in the car. Sometimes, in true cartoon fashion – poof! – it just appears.

You do have a creative self. And it works best in the background. It needs space, not pressure. You just have to give it room to operate. 

So the next time you’re stuck, don’t force an answer. Step away. Do something ordinary.

And don’t be too surprised when your puzzle piece turns up from out of the blue.

All the best,