This question came about due to my preoccupation with solving puzzles. Whether I’m creating my own puzzles for my brand “Bored Boomers”, or solving someone else’s puzzles at the end of the day, you have to wonder if your brain ever gets a rest?
I find solving puzzles to be quite relaxing! But you may be thinking, “Yeah, right. You’re getting ready for bed, and there you are solving puzzles? Haven’t you done enough problem-solving during the day at work?”
Great question.
A Change is as Good as a Rest …
If your nature is to be a helper or a situtation-solver (be it a good or bad situation), it can certainly lead to burn out.
Back in the day in my late teens, I worked on dad’s dairy farm. And with all that farming work I never got a day off … it’s pretty much the same thing, day in, day out. I’m not complaining; it builds character!
There were always jobs to be done, fences to be fixed, cows to milk, hay to bale … you get the picture. And you can easily see why you can get drained. I was feeling fed up and worn out from the sheep making holes in the wire fencing in their attempt to escape, when dad made this proclamation:
“Susan, a change is as good as a rest.”
I decided to put dad’s theory to the test. I gave up on the sheep fence and moved my attention to painting the old shed doors. I had a renewed energy. The change of “job” gave my brain a rest … it was something different to tackle.
Solving Puzzles is a Mind Set
I’ve discovered that creative folk just can’t help it. It’s a mind-set. They love to be creating stuff. All the time! And at the end of the day, it’s hard to turn your brain off!
And That’s Why I Find It Relaxing Solving Puzzles!
So, at the end of a typical day of computer work, book writing, and puzzle-creating, I find great pleasure in solving someone else’s puzzles – namely cryptograms. It takes my mind off my own “problems/puzzles.” I can leave my own work-related unsolved problems behind, tackle something else and give my brain that much-needed break… and then it’s time for bed.
If You Want to Solve Puzzles at the End of the Day …
Check out our books at Bored Boomers.
Can someone PLEASE flick that dang fly off my face?
