How do you put together a jigsaw puzzle?

There’s one on my coffee table right now. My roommate in Los Angeles started it with her brother last week. Personally, I like to assemble the outer frame first. Let me rephrase . . . I feel I must assemble the outer frame first. I then methodically and systematically organize and separate the varying color groups until it’s finally complete. (That is until I get a headache and decide it’s her damn puzzle, she can deal with it.)

I’m a linear person. I do things logically. I like order. I like things a certain way. Or at least that’s how I describe myself.

Here are some other ways I describe myself . . . I’m not a very creative person. I’m not someone who creates something from nothing. I’m a great collaborator, but don’t leave it to me to have the original idea. I’m the dancer, not the choreographer. I’m the actress, not the playwright. I’m a soldier, not a general. I’m a follower, not a leader. Give me a task, show me how to accomplish it, I’ll plug through ‘til it’s complete. I’m game for just about anything and everything if you do the planning.

I tell myself this is how I am.

But how much of that language represents realistic conclusions I’ve made about my personality and how much of it is perpetuating limiting beliefs that hold me back? By stating over and over that I am a linear thinker do I keep my imagination at bay? Like, if we say over and over that we are something, does that keep us from becoming anything else?

What is the difference between having a grasp of our gifts and limitations and limiting what gifts are in our grasp?

I mean, I create this blog from nothing every week. That’s one example of how I am creative. You’re experiencing it right now. I’m experiencing it right now.

In the end, I believe, it’s a very fine line and a slippery slope because it’s important to acknowledge your limitations in order to admit where you can learn and grow. You can’t be good at everything because then you can never develop into more.

But I’m going to start practicing being more careful with the words I use to describe myself, because it’s astonishing how powerful words can be. I’m going to start using them to catapult me, energize me, and motivate me, not restrict me, confine me, or keep me from trying new things.

So, this puzzle on my coffee table . . . I’m just gonna grab a piece and figure out where it goes.