Have you ever sat down to work on a massive 2,000-piece jigsaw puzzle, only to find that each piece, no matter how small, plays a crucial role in the final picture? Life’s projects work the same way. Every task we set out to do is like one of those small, seemingly insignificant pieces, but together, they form the bigger picture of our goals, dreams, or business endeavors.
Disclaimer: I should mention that this metaphorical puzzle isn’t just a random example. My partner and I actually bought this 2,000-piece puzzle of Starry Night together. I helped with the borders in the beginning.
That was it.
Well, I helped with one piece yesterday. You can’t see it because they were two pieces outside of the main project.
Imagine the colors of a 2,000-piece puzzle of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Swirls of blues, yellows, and blacks make up the iconic masterpiece—each shade representing a different part of a project, business, category, or dream. Just like you would with a puzzle, you begin by defining the borders. You organize the pieces, understanding what assets you have, and start figuring out where they should go.
The Process: Fitting the Pieces
The puzzle-building process starts with boundaries. In a project, those boundaries are your plans, goals, and structure. Next, you sort through the middle pieces, analyzing, experimenting, and figuring out how everything fits together. The same goes for building a business or achieving a life goal—you need to lay the groundwork before you can start putting together the core pieces.
But unlike a jigsaw puzzle, life’s projects aren’t confined to fitting two broken pieces of a whole together. Life gives you the freedom to change your approach, reimagine the picture, or even create something entirely new.
The Beauty of Free Form
The difference between life’s jigsaw puzzle and the puzzle on your table is that life’s puzzle isn’t bound by the same limitations. In a traditional jigsaw, every piece has one perfect spot. But in life, you have free form. You can shift, rearrange, or even discard pieces that don’t fit with your evolving vision.
And that’s the beauty of it. Life isn’t static. Your projects, dreams, and ideas are constantly changing, and with them, the image of what you’re creating also shifts. The key is not to get stuck looking for the perfect fit but to embrace the fluidity and adaptability that life’s puzzle offers.
Creating Your Own Masterpiece
As you work on your life’s projects, remember that the final image is yours to define. There’s no predetermined picture on the box cover. You get to decide what it looks like. And just like in Starry Night, the journey of creating something beautiful lies in all the intricate details—the swirls, the textures, and the unexpected connections.
Whether you’re launching a new business, developing a personal project, or just figuring out your next steps in life, embrace the fact that you hold the power to shape your puzzle. Life’s jigsaw is yours to design—it’s not about fitting into someone else’s pattern. So move pieces around, redefine the edges, and create the masterpiece that only you can envision.