Puzzle Solving

When neurodivergent minds look at all elements of life as a puzzle to be solved, they open up possibilities.

I’ve always been drawn to puzzles. I work on many of them - jigsaw, sudoku, crosswords, and a good murder mystery novel. The most intriguing puzzle, though, is the human mind. 

I thought about the mind as a puzzle when I looked at the one dog-eared page of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.  The entire book is a mystery from the lens of a neurodivergent protagonist. This quote made me think:   

When I was little I didn’t understand about other people having minds. And they said I would always find this very difficult. But I don’t find this difficult now. Because I decided that it is a kind of puzzle, and if something is a puzzle there is always a way of solving it.

Neurodivergent minds often love the challenge of a puzzle because puzzles provide inherent executive function security when many other parts of life do not. Puzzles: 

• Evoke a sense of calm by offering predictability

• Clear up over-thinking by providing focus

• Possess clear rules and manageable steps

• Offer achievable goals

• Provide a sense of self-satisfaction when completed

When neurodivergent individuals look at all elements of life as a puzzle to be solved, they open up possibilities. The challenging parts of life become manageable.

You can attain your goals by taking the steps forward to solve your puzzle. If you need support solving the other puzzles in life, coaching can help.