Jigsaw Puzzle

For my birthday last year, my husband bought me a jigsaw puzzle. I LOVE puzzles and I haven’t done one in years. I was really excited to do it. That puzzle sat on the counter in my office for 6 months. I kept ignoring it. I kept saying “when will I have time to sit down and do the puzzle?”

Fast forward to May. I was very overwhelmed with work and with social media. I felt like I couldn’t catch up. My hamster wheel just kept turning and turning. I felt I was close to a meltdown and I just wanted to quit. 

I decided the best thing for me at the time was to take a giant pause from social media. I took 10 days off. I didn’t post a thing, and I didn’t get on there one time. I have to say… it was glorious. Social media is a free resource for me to help others. It offers me platforms to spread my message, but when you do multiple platforms daily, it can be very daunting. 

The break allowed me time to look around (off my phone). I looked around outside, and I also did some soul searching inside. During my meandering, I saw that jigsaw puzzle and finally decided to do it! 

This puzzle was hard! I had never done a round puzzle and all the colors seemed to blend together. BUT, one piece at a time, I did it! I wasn’t in a hurry and I didn’t really think about the outcome. I concentrated on one piece at a time. Every time I would sit down to work on it, I would concentrate on one small area. I would seek out one specific puzzle piece to perfectly fit that one space. I did that 500 times. 

And then it hit me! It hit me over the head and I had one of those “ah-ha” moments.

I say all the time that the relationship we have with food is the longest relationship we will ever have, right? Well, a healthy relationship with food is kind of like doing a jigsaw puzzle.

1.  If you just look at the box sitting on your counter, it can seem impossible to find the time.  
2. If you look at the pieces all in a pile before you begin the puzzle, it can be overwhelming.

That’s also how it is when you are beginning and trying to maintain a healthy relationship with food. If you only imagine yourself with good lab results and a healthy weight, it’s overwhelming. Start with one piece. Start with one habit, one meal, one new healthy food, Then add another. Then another. Now, the framework is done. Piece by piece you can continue on the path toward healthier eating and cooking. Meal by meal you can reach your health goals.

Here’s one more analogy:

Monks are given a string of beads to meditate with. There are 108 beads on the strand. Their job during meditation is to focus on ONE BEAD AT A TIME during meditation. Apparently 108 is a scared number. 

I want you to view your journey with healthier eating and cooking like that strand of beads. Concentrate on one decision at a time. One meal. One healthier ingredient. One glass of water. 

Your journey with food is like a jigsaw puzzle. Just concentrate on one piece at a time, NOT the end goal. With each piece you build in this relationship and journey with food, you can look back and see how far you’ve come. 

I’m here to support you on your journey. One meal at a time. One healthy decision at a time. 

Xoxo,