It Was There All Along

My husband and I have always enjoyed working on puzzles together. There is something about the process that is both calming and engaging at the same time. It requires focus, patience, and a willingness to stay with something even when progress feels slow.

The most recent puzzle we started was a beautiful winter scene by Thomas Kinkade. It was far more difficult than I anticipated. The colors were so similar in many areas that distinguishing one piece from another required a level of attention that felt, at times, disproportionate to the task itself.

We started it in January, and here we are, well into May, still working through it.

This past weekend, I found myself watching my husband as he worked on a small section of the puzzle. He sat there quietly, studying the pieces in front of him, turning them slightly, comparing shapes and shades, and then pausing again.

It went on like that for a while.

And then, almost suddenly, he found the piece he had been looking for.

Not by chance, but by recognition.

What was interesting was not just that he found it, but what happened next.

Within seconds, it happened again.

Another piece that had seemed invisible just moments before now stood out clearly.

I remember thinking, those pieces were there the entire time.

Nothing had changed about the puzzle itself. No new information had been introduced. No pieces had been added or removed.

The only thing that changed was what he was able to see.

There is something worth paying attention to in that.

 In many ways, this is how we experience challenges in our work.

There are moments when something feels unclear, when progress feels slow, or when we find ourselves searching for an answer that does not seem to present itself.

It can feel as though something is missing.

More information.

More time.

A different strategy.

But often, that is not the case.

The pieces are there.

The opportunity is there.

The next step is there.

The solution is there.

What is missing is not the answer.

It is the ability to recognize it.

And recognition often changes the moment we change how we are looking.

Clarity is not always something you go out and find.

More often, it comes from seeing what is already there—differently.

What I watched him do was not simply wait for the right piece to appear.

He changed the way he was looking.

He picked up the pieces, turned them in his hand, compared shapes, adjusted his angle, and tested what he thought he saw against what was actually in front of him.

He was not searching harder.

He was seeing more clearly.

And that is what made the difference.

There is a neurological component to this that is worth understanding. When we engage deeply with a problem, particularly one that requires pattern recognition and spatial reasoning, the brain begins to organize information in new ways. Neural pathways strengthen, attention sharpens, and what once felt indistinguishable begins to separate into something recognizable.

Activities like puzzles are powerful for this reason. They encourage sustained focus, improve cognitive flexibility, and train the brain to recognize patterns that are not immediately obvious.

But beyond the neurological benefit, there is a broader lesson.

In business, this shows up more often than we realize.

A relationship that has not progressed.

A strategy that does not seem to be working.

An opportunity that feels just out of reach.

The instinct is often to assume that something is missing or that a change in direction is required.

But sometimes, the shift is not in what you are doing.

It is in how you are seeing.

A different lens can reveal what effort alone cannot.

And then, in a moment that often feels unexpected, something shifts.

What was unclear becomes obvious.

What was difficult becomes simple.

What you were searching for reveals itself.

Reflection

Where in your business are you searching for a new answer… instead of re-examining what’s already in front of you?

Nothing about the puzzle changed.

Only the way it was seen.

And sometimes, that is the only shift that is needed.