Finding the next piece

A conversation I had this recently really struck me. The man I was talking to spent the first year of his post concussion recovery on one recovery strategy, and made virtually no progress. He was totally committed to it, and it wasn’t a ‘wrong’ thing to do, but he was doing things in the wrong order.

He went on to tell me that once he took a different approach, got the right foundations in place and had clarity on how and why they were important, then the rest started to follow.

He came off the plateau and started to make progress in his recovery again.

Shame he lost a whole year.

Post concussion recovery can be like a not-very-fun jigsaw puzzle.

You need to get the bits around the outside in place before making progress with the middle.

Like this man, I know my recovery would have been quicker if I’d understood from the start what I understand now. And sadly, I see this so often.

Sometimes we’re trying all the pieces at once, sometimes we’re working on the wrong piece in isolation, or maybe we get part of the picture and think that’s as far as it’ll go. Maybe we’re trying to work it out without the damn box so we don’t even know what it’s meant to look like.

It’s also the case that we each have a jigsaw with a different picture, the shapes of the pieces may be different, and the specifics of how it fits together depends on a whole host of wider factors. So whilst there are general principles to follow, the application of these in each of our lives is as unique as we are. And some of us get the 50-piecer and others are handed the 2,000 box. Such is life.

But just because it’s not straightforward, doesn’t mean it’s not possible. And, just like a real jigsaw, it takes much longer if you try and do it all on your own.

So my question for you is this; where are you with your jigsaw?

Drop me a line and let me know. Perhaps I can help you find the next piece.