I can remember trying to put puzzles together as a child. I started with the small six or seven piece puzzles and progressed to the more challenging ones. There was a season when, along with my mother, I was helping put together puzzles with hundreds or thousands of pieces. These puzzles had elaborate portraits of exotic places or delightful things on the box top. Putting the puzzles together was sometimes very frustrating, and I must admit that there were times when I wanted to give up. Honestly, I did give up on a puzzle or two, and left my mother to complete them by herself. The older I have gotten the more I realize the similarities between life and puzzles.
There is a great deal of truth to the notion that life is like a puzzle. There is a picture of our lives that we all desire to see completed before the end. The picture reveals what our lives look like when the various areas: family, career, health, finances, spirituality, and business, all fit together. Often we tend to look at the different areas of our lives only as individual pieces, and therein lies the problem. We see the individual pieces of the puzzle but never begin to look where they fit in the completed picture. Where does my career fit in the finished picture? What about my family? It is vital that we see the whole picture and then begin to place every piece where it belongs. There is a process to completing the puzzle of life successfully and being more than pleased with the result.
See the Whole Picture
The best place to begin is knowing what the finished picture looks like. The late Stephen Covey said, “begin with the end in mind.” What is the vision that you have for your life? Continuing with the puzzle analogy, think about the first thing you do when you bring home that brand new 1000 piece puzzle. In fact, think about why you picked this particular puzzle from the shelf in the first place. You were probably attracted by the picture on the front of the box. You liked what you saw and wanted to create that picture by completing the puzzle. Vision is akin to the picture on the front of the puzzle box. Vision is the mental picture we have of what our lives will look like when we have successfully completed placing all of the pieces in their proper place. So if we want to live a life that we are pleased with in the end we must begin with a vision. Who is it that you want to be?
Identify the Pieces
How do I get a vision for my life? Visioning for your life can and should take a bit of time. After all, this is your life we are talking about. You want to take all the time needed to envision your entire life. Do remain single or do you desire to be married? Do you have children? In other words, what does your family look like in the future? What about career and education? What kind of health do you envision for your life? What do you desire your financial life to look like well into the future? Do you expect or intend to own a business? All of these are pieces of the puzzle that is your life, and they must all be considered as you put your life vision together. You can see why this process may take some time. It doesn’t matter where you are right now. It doesn’t matter because vision always speaks to a future state. Vision is not about where I am but about where I intend to be at some future point. Where do you intend to be in every area of your life?
It Can’t Work Without Vision
The Bible tells us the without a vision people drift. Think of how true that statement is. Think about the puzzle again. What are the odds that you will successfully put the puzzle together if I neglect to show you the picture on the front of the box? Though not impossible, it will likely take significantly longer for you to complete the puzzle. The joy you get in the process of completing the puzzle will also probably be greatly reduced. There will be periods when you don’t know what comes next. Much of your success will come luckily rather than because you are following a prescribed plan. Without a vision our lives can be the same. We can wander aimlessly, wondering what comes next. We become slaves to the moment. Whatever is in front of us now becomes the most important thing. We consider every opportunity because we do not have a picture that we are methodically working to see come to fruition. In life, as with a puzzle, we need a vision.
The Bible also tells that there is a benefit from writing the vision down. It provides a map for those who need direction. When completing a puzzle it is always helpful to keep the box top handy. As we put the various pieces in their proper place the tangible expression of the vision becomes our guide. This is why writing the vision down is so important. A written vision becomes a daily, weekly, or monthly reminder of where you are going. The more often you refer to the picture, the less likely you are to drift from pursuing it with diligence.
Do you see your life as a puzzle? Have you envisioned the finished picture or just the many different pieces? What can you do today to begin to put the pieces where they belong?