A to Z Analogy: Puzzles
In my A to Z Analogy, I will take places, things and people and relate them to developing our online business. This is just for fun, but perhaps, you'll be able to see something from a different perspective.
Today's Analogy: P for Puzzles
This is the first image that came to mind when I thought of puzzles...
As a child, I could easily spend hours putting puzzles together. Whether by myself or with my sister, this was a definitely one of my favorite past-times.
These days, I'm more into these kind of puzzles...
Sudoku. I can't get enough! I was never into crosswords...which is just my way of saying I sucked! A simple 3-lettered word could have me stumped for hours. As much as I love words and talking, me and crosswords just never seemed to get along. But Sudoku? It was love at first sight!
Finding the Right Pieces
Puzzles can be a lot of fun, but there's something that we do while solving them:
we strengthen our minds. When any muscle is not used regularly for a long period of time, it can go into a state of atrophy. By definition, atrophy is when a bodily part or tissue decrease in size or "wastes away". Granted, your brain is not going to wither away unless there was some sort of major damage or trauma, but I believe if we don't "exercise" or stimulate our brains, they can become dulled over time.
Wealthy Affiliate Stimulus
I really can't think of a time I came onto this platform and didn't learn something new. Can you? This really is a university of learning! I bet if I picked one topic, spent a week attempting to learn as much as I could about it, then came back to that same topic a month later, I would learn something new! That's really one of the things that keeps me so engaged on this platform.
Granted, we don't want to become what I call a "forever student", one who is forever learning, but never applying. That's just a waste of time! Each and every day we engage in the community here at Wealthy Affiliate, our minds can be stimulated in a variety of ways. It's such a beautiful thing to be able to lay your head down on your pillow at night, with the satisfaction of having learned something new that day.
So, whether you like fitting cardboard pieces together, filling in the blanks with words or numbers, make sure to be active in stimulating your mind as much as you can.
And always..
Strive to Thrive,
Veronica
Recent Comments
27
Veronica, I love this Analogy!!
You know, putting together puzzles was one of my big favourites as a child too, really!
As I started out my adventure here at WA I was truly puzzled, would I make it, learning this business. Yes, I have put one puzzle piece after the other together and the picture starts to take form. Sometimes it takes longer to find a missing piece, but with the support from the community and by following the course, of course, I find more and more pieces.
Better go finding more missing pieces!
;-)
I agree, Pernilla. As we advance with the training, we find that we can't put some puzzles together by ourselves. Thank goodness for the support of this community!
Yes, cognitive ability declines with age, but it can be preserved by learning new skills. At any age. There are studies of 90 year olds learning baroque recorder for the first time and recovering memory!
Puzzles are also great for testing our abilities. But if the puzzles you regularly do are solved with a kind of rote process, they aren't testing your skills. The brain likes finding efficient shortcuts. But its functions are only strengthened with demanding new challenges.
Of puzzles: I love puzzles and games of strategy. And I love to fix and solve things for others. I have a reputation for it, and I enjoy it. I really love being of service.
But there is a risk in providing such service: A 101 smaller problem sets can easily take me away from that one big project that really needs resolving. I need to remind myself of this.
So, when I reflect on the word 'puzzle' I think about what I like to do, and what I do for others, but I also reflect on how it's important to find a way to burn my efforts like a big log, rather than a bunch of twigs.
WOW!!! I agree with what you shared about the need for puzzles to challenge us, or we can just reach a plateau in developing mentally. Great insight, Ivy!
Like you say V, nothing more satisfying than bringing all the pieces together. Learning to be a successful online is like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle for me. I'm not sure I'll ever get to the end, but it sure is great when parts of it come together. :) ~Mark
I agree with you, Mark. I think this is a never-ending puzzle...and I don't mind it at all!
You're just a busy person like myself. I can't seem to catch up with you these day. Anyway, lets get-to-getting, while the getting is good!
Cheers!
Ha! Ha! Veronica, I'm an old duckling now!
Thanks for your hilarious spirit, we need it sometimes.
Really enjoyed your post Veronica, we are all puzzlers at heart, since we were littlun's, some folks stop trying to work things out and get comfortable, if we can keep puzzling along it makes for a vibrant life. There are more than the national average of penny drop moments here at WA as things fall into place.
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Thanks V,
Good advice, good transition to WA efforts!
Keep it up!
Tim
Thanks, Tim!