The Puzzle Is Complete: Now the Real Work Begins
At first glance, the puzzle looks complete.
All the pieces are in place. The edges are defined. The image is recognizable, maybe even beautiful.
It tells a story of where you’ve been, what you’ve accomplished, who you’ve become.
To others, it might even look “finished.”
But real leadership, real growth, isn’t about completing the picture.
It’s about pausing long enough to examine the connections.
Each puzzle piece holds meaning.
Some slid into place effortlessly, born from natural gifts or aligned opportunities. Others were pressed in with persistence, shaped by challenge, risk, or resilience. And some... well, some have been sitting there so long, I’ve forgotten why I placed them there in the first place.
Every experience, belief, relationship, and role is part of the puzzle. Some pieces arrived gently, gifts of grace and timing. Others were forced in, shaped by survival, fear, or outside expectations. Some no longer fit, but stay because removing them feels too risky.
If we never pause to examine these connections,
If we never sit with the why behind the what,
We risk building a life that looks whole but feels hollow.
Recalibration asks bigger questions:
What parts of this puzzle still resonate with who I’m becoming?
What pieces are simply echoes of an old version of me?
Am I holding on out of comfort... or out of calling?
What if the puzzle isn’t meant to stay static?
What if it’s meant to be examined, questioned, and even reimagined?
Lately, as I revisit my own completed picture, I find myself asking:
What does this piece represent?
Why did I choose to include it?
How does it connect to the whole?
Is it still serving me, or am I just used to it being there?
This kind of intentional reflection is at the heart of real leadership.
John Maxwell’s Law of Process reminds us that "leadership develops daily, not in a day."
Growth doesn’t happen in the rush to complete the picture - it happens in the steady, often quiet work of reflection.
It’s found in the courage to ask yourself, piece by piece:
Is this still mine to carry?
Without this practice of recalibration, we risk building a life that looks beautiful but feels quietly disconnected at the core.
The real work isn’t assembling the puzzle.
The real work begins when we dare to take a closer look and ask:
"Does this still fit who I am now?"
It’s a discipline of connection:
Not just what connects, but why it connects.
Not just how it looks, but how it serves.
Each of us navigates this reflection a little differently.
Depending on your natural style, recalibration might feel like slowing down when you want to charge ahead, letting go when you'd rather cling to the familiar, trusting intuition when you normally rely on analysis, or choosing depth when you're used to chasing energy.
The point isn't which path you take—it's that you take the time to listen.
So here I am -
Looking at a completed puzzle not with pride, but with curiosity.
Not rushing to tear it apart, but listening to what it’s telling me.
Not trying to perfect the picture, but learning how to lead from it.
Because in leadership, and in life, the goal isn’t to finish the puzzle.
The goal is to understand it.
Reflection Prompt:
Take 10 minutes to sit with your own “completed” picture.
Pick one piece - an identity, a role, a relationship, a habit - and gently ask:
Why is this here?
How does it serve me now?
What would happen if I let it go?
Then listen - quietly, tenderly - for what your soul has to say.
And if you’d like a partner in your journey, I’m here for you.
