Being Open to Looking at Things from Different Perspectives

by on December 23, 2020

Being Open to Looking at Things from Different Perspectives

One of my favorite ways to spend my free time, especially in the evening relaxing after a day of working with clients and spending time on my laptop, is to sit and work solving Sudoku puzzles. For those not familiar with Sudoku, they are grid based puzzles, usually either 9 rows by 9 columns or 16 rows by 16 columns in makeup. As I have progressed as a Sudoku puzzle fan, I have found myself more and more attracted to the 16 X 16 variety. That likely is because they tend to engross me more, and usually take some time which to complete.

Previously, I would complete such puzzles once a week, as they were a feature of the Saturday edition of my local newspaper. When I cancelled the newspaper’s subscription at the onset of the COV19 breakout, I needed to find other outlets for my puzzle passion. Fortunately, the internet is a great source of finding just about anything one is looking for, and quickly I found a site that provided daily puzzles of all difficulty levels.

The object of Sudoku is to complete each row and column with the numbers from 1 to 9 with no number being used more than once. When the puzzles expand from rows and columns of 9 positions in length, then the task is unique rows of the numbers from 1 through 9 and the letters from A through G only being used once. While the object of the puzzle completion is the same all the times, depending on level of difficulty of the puzzle it can be quite the challenge. A certain number of the numbers and letters are exposed on the puzzle. Some puzzles are rated as Easy, some Medium in difficulty, some Hard and some Tough. (I tend to gravitate toward the hard puzzles). The number of items revealed, and where they are located in the puzzle is often the challenge in the more difficult puzzles.

Some steps in solving the problem come very easily. Others become more difficult, especially as the puzzle has less “obvious” answers, and more that have to be deduced by logic. There are times I get into a flow and coming up with certain letters or numbers is very easy. But, then sometimes I hit an impasse and sit for minutes finding the next letter or number I can reveal. And, frankly there are times when I am making no progress, I’ll put the puzzle down, and come back to it at a later time.

The most fascinating part of the puzzle problem solving is when I come up with a solution to a particular square on the puzzle, and it was there for me to complete all along. When solved, I’ll say to myself, “How did I not see that?” I must have looked at that row or column several times. However, what usually opens up an answer to me is “a change of perspective.” Maybe I was looking at rows of the puzzle in horizontal orientation and just going up and down the rows. Then I change my orientation to looking at the vertical rows and something that was not obvious before becomes apparent. Other times a solution, or even a hint of a solution in one row of the puzzle, gives me an answer in another part of the puzzle.

I bring this all up because life and our day to day living can be like that. Sometimes we seem to be stuck on a challenge for hours or even days. Other times, we only see one answer to solving an issue in our life. But, if we allow ourselves to step back and look at the item from other perspectives or angles, another solution may come to us. To be open to such an approach usually requires patience, discipline, and an acceptance of the fact that there is more than one way to approach and find a solution to a problem.

Do you seem to be running into roadblocks that are keeping you from moving forward in your life? Are you one who feels that the answer must be one way or only one solution, and you are not open to other answers? The next time that happens, remember the example of the Sodoku puzzle, (or whatever games, puzzles or challenges you prefer), and open yourself to other viewpoints in addressing a difficult situation.

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