When our family goes on vacation we usually like to start a traditional puzzle and work on it throughout the time we are wherever we are. Usually it’s on a table and we work on it as we feel like it, hoping it is completed by the time we head back home.
A few years ago, our son Brock (then maybe four or five years old) asked if a puzzle could be only two pieces. Having never considered a question (or puzzle) this simple I said, “Well, a puzzle is a puzzle, so I guess they could be made up of only two pieces so long as they link together.”
At the time of Brock’s question, we were working on the border of a 1,000 piece puzzle, so a question about a TWO piece puzzle struck me as a bit odd. Now, after a couple of years of deliberation on Brock’s question, I came up with two things from this very brief discussion with my son that may offer us a couple of takeaways……
One….. Most people look at things through a different lens than we do. In his mind, Brock’s question was quite inquisitive. In an adult’s mind, it would probably be viewed differently.
Two….. Sometimes the solution to a problem, like a puzzle, can be a lot simpler than we think (two pieces versus 1,000).
Look at things through a different lens. Boil down the big issues into smaller parts to find a solution. Don’t complicate things. Taking a different and more simplistic approach can likely lead to success.
Comments