Monthly Archives: October 2013

The jigsaw puzzle of your life

I like to look at the issues presented in counseling as challenging sections in the jigsaw puzzle of your life (I know, super cheesy, let’s just go with it). Everyone has a jigsaw puzzle of their life and everyone’s puzzle will create a different picture in the end. It can be a tricky puzzle. We all have different pieces, and no one knows how many pieces their puzzle has come with. We don’t even know if we’ve been given all the pieces. Some go missing and others seem like they might belong to a different puzzle altogether. But we never stop working on it – it’s going to take the length of our life. Sometimes we work alone and sometimes others help. Usually when people come to counseling it’s because they have gotten stuck. These pieces look like they should fit and I keep mashing them together but it’s just not right. Or, I’ve got all the wrong pieces.

All the puzzles have solutions, some easier than others. You might actually have to craft some new pieces if the ones you’ve got aren’t fitting. And like any craft, the more you practice, the easier it gets!

Here’s something that might help a little: The other day I saw a really interesting TED talk by Kelly McGonigal on a different way to look at stress. After I watched it I thought, Of course! That make so much more sense! Maybe you will too . . . it’s about 15 minutes long, try it on your lunch break.