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In this intriguing Youtube clip, Melinda French Gates (Bill’s ex-wife) relates an account of how she and Bill formed a close relationship while completing jigsaw puzzles together. In the video, Melinda goes on to discuss the many benefits she and Bill enjoyed from completing these puzzles, as well as how many of the hard and soft skills she and Bill developed were transferable to the real world, such as critical thinking and problem-solving, communication, perseverance, and stress management.
In fact, Bill Gates is said to love jigsaw puzzles so much that he takes one with him everywhere he goes (even on vacation). Case in point, if these puzzles are good enough for the Founder of Microsoft and ex-holder of the richest person in the world accolade, then they’re good enough for you too.
The good news is that you don’t even have to leave your house to buy a jigsaw puzzle these days to begin reaping the numerous benefits that they provide. That’s because sites such as Im-a-puzzle.com have a plethora of jigsaw puzzles that you can tackle on your desktop, laptop, or smartphone. With a broad range of game types and difficulty settings to choose from, you can quickly create a free game that suits your ability level before racking your brains attempting to solve it. With that said, if you’re still not convinced that jigsaws are worth your time, here are three key benefits that you simply do not want to pass upon.
They train you to look at things from a different point of view
Most of us are guilty of only thinking about the world on our terms. In actuality, the things we see and the life we experience are purely from our perspective, and each person you come across will have their unique view and opinion on matters. This one-dimensional thinking is problematic in many ways, primarily since it puts a huge roadblock in your potential development. Being close-minded to other possibilities will make it hard to apply different models of thinking and rationale in your decision-making.
In this case, jigsaw puzzles provide a great tool for learning how to think differently and approach a problem from new angles. Perhaps you have been struggling to find a matching piece using one particular tactic (maybe lining up the edges to try and find a match). However, if you step away and alter your perspective, you could start to look for matching colors or images on the pieces.
During her guest lecture, Melinda Gates discusses how she and Bill would both work on different tasks at the same time when completing a puzzle. For example, one would work on shapes and the other on colors. When they got stuck, they would switch, and more often than not, the other person would see things that the other person missed. Even if you don’t have a partner, stepping away from the problem and returning to it with fresh eyes can yield the same results.
Continually doing this time and time again will train your brain to always appreciate the possibility that your current line of thinking may not always be the most optimal. Sometimes, it is prudent to step away and reassess your strategy. Of course, this translates to countless real-world situations, particularly in the business world, where you are continually confronted with obstacles that you must overcome.
You learn how to push on through frustrations
Perseverance and determination are two of the most important skills that one can possess. This is because of the simple fact that life is hard. You’re going to be continually confronted with complex tasks, tough decisions, and you will have to face situations that seem as though they are practically impossible when you first start. However, one of the best ways to ensure that you fail at any of these tasks is by quitting.
It’s no surprise then to learn that various studies concur that perseverance is an essential quality for success in life, often topping aptitude and raw talent as a more accurate predictor of achievement.
Once again, the humble jigsaw puzzle offers an excellent platform to train your levels of perseverance. Sometimes, when you have a 600, 800, or 12000 piece jigsaw puzzle staring you in the face, it can be easy to get a little overwhelmed. Where do you even begin a task like this? Well, through trusting yourself and knowing there is an end in sight, you can take small steps towards your goal, gradually overcoming mental blocks until you finally accomplish your tasks.
They are great for brain health
Studies have shown that jigsaw puzzles tap into multiple cognitive abilities and help train a large part of your brain simultaneously. Due to this brain stimulation and the forging of new neural pathways, regularly completing jigsaw puzzles is believed to act as a preventative tool against neurocognitive disorders and cognitive aging, which is a groundbreaking discovery since brain conditions and neural diseases are one of medicine’s greatest unmet challenges.
In addition, jigsaw puzzles have been connected to various brain-boosting effects, including improved memory, greater capacity to perform complicated tasks, higher productivity, and improved visual-spatial reasoning. Researchers from the University of Michigan, directed by Dr. Susanne Jäggi, discovered that spending 25 minutes a day solving puzzles and riddles can increase your IQ by 4 points, which is certainly nothing to scoff at.
Final word
As you can see, there are plenty of amazing benefits to be had from taking the time to sit down and complete a jigsaw puzzle every now and then. Forcing your brain to think of new ways to approach problems, being able to understand why your current line of thinking may be incorrect, and developing the essential quality of perseverance are just a few of the main advantages you can stand to enjoy in the process. When you factor in these benefits with the proven brain-boosting effects that jigsaws provide, it’s clear to see why these nifty little games are one of Bill Gates’s most essential items, and maybe they should be for you too.
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