Hey, Fellow Tribeless!
What’s on your mind today? Lately, I find myself plagued by loose puzzle pieces. Let me explain…
I’ve been in therapy now for almost six years. The first half of those uncovered how I had systematically fractured my personality and my psyche until I had created a million-piece puzzle with no two pieces connected. Why the heck would I do that you’re undoubtedly wondering. In order to survive my unstable, unsafe, world as a child growing up abused by neglect.
As an adult, however, all those loose, jumbled puzzle pieces was leading me down a path of misery and self-destruction. I wasn’t whole. I wasn’t me. I was just a hollow cardboard box carrying around a million, non-descript, lifeless puzzle pieces. Which is exactly how I landed in therapy in the first place, destroying myself piece by piece with lack of food and drowning in metaphorical black goo.
Yet, with knowledge and awareness comes power. So, the second half of my tenure inside therapy has been weeding out the pieces that don’t fit the puzzle of me, those ill-fitting ideas, thoughts, and personality traits forced upon me by my family, by society, and then connecting the remaining pieces to complete the puzzle of me. While the puzzle was master-experience level and arduous to put together, the stunning, vibrant, dynamic, picture it gradually revealed is priceless. It was now undivided, every piece perfectly interlocked forming a whole. I am now whole. The journey held such significance and impact, it became its own chapter in my recently published memoir, “Puzzle Pieces” – Chapter Eight.
Which brings me to yesterday. Lately, I’ve been focusing my energy on clarifying my business’ message to improve and simplify my marketing strategy. Up until yesterday, magical yesterday, I had perceived the various facets of my business as being distinct, separate puzzle pieces belonging to different puzzles. But, like I said, yesterday was a magical day. As I sat detailing and defining my ideal client, I suddenly noticed how the light bulbs and sockets of each business puzzle piece did connect. They were Cinderella’s glass slipper, a perfect fit! The dawning that all aspects of my business, once thought as separate entities, are actually interlocking pieces of the same puzzle corrected my myopic vision to finally see the connections and whole picture.
So, guess what? I sat across from my therapist yesterday, magical yesterday, relating this incredible revelation. And what does she say to me? It’s like these parts of your business were puzzle pieces that you’ve finally figured out how they connect. Of course! Puzzle pieces! With that metaphor mirrored back at me, I understood why I inexplicably felt such relief, such expansion inside my revelation. My business was now whole. And as I am my business, I am again whole. So, moving forward with making decisions in business AND in life, the question now becomes: How does this fit into the puzzle? Does it add to the dazzling picture or deface it?
What things are you currently doing in life or in business that don’t fit into your puzzle? How would it feel to simply remove that ill-fitting piece and focus on those that do? Let’s meet at the puzzle table. I’d love to hear!