Spelling it out

I’ve recently started doing these Spelling Bee puzzles. You gain points and progress through levels by making 4-9 letter words, always ensuring to use the centre letter. I started doing one version and am now up to three a day. I try to attain the coveted ‘Genius’ level for at least one of them, but there are days when I don’t even come close. Regardless, it’s an enjoyable pastime, which wakes me up in the morning, and that I can play while waiting, or during the stress-inducing pursuit of taking public transit in this city.

Apart from marvelling at words I didn’t realize I knew and learning many more, I’ve actually found it has helped me gain a perspective on problem solving in general.

Whenever I approach a puzzle, on first consideration, there are usually things I can see and do immediately. I tend to pounce on the familiar and take any steps that are easily attainable. But inevitably, after a certain time, I often get stuck, frustrated and want to abandon the whole undertaking.

One feature of the puzzle is that you can move the letters around the honeycomb and see them from different angles. I find this helpful because just as in life, the same approach to a solution may not work every time and we tend to go wrong when we expect that it always will. I’ve found if I can approach a problem from a different perspective, I can often see other options, like words that oddly emerge that I hadn’t expected to find.

 Of course, when I’m tired, I will not get very far, and if I give myself a bit of space and leave the problem for a time and come back to it, sometimes there are aspects that pop up that I hadn’t been able to see or consider before.

 Also, if I really want to achieve something – be it ‘Genius’ status or an important goal in my life, it’s unlikely to happen instantly or quickly. If I push through my frustration and persist at it with will and determination, I am more likely to get to where I need to go.

Yes, on the surface, Spelling Bee, like Wordle, is a fun puzzle that occupies some time and often a considerable number of brain cells. But it’s also allowed me to consider and to deliberate on my approach to many other aspects of my life and to see where I’m going wrong. It has helped me to see how determination, along with flexibility, patience, creativity and persistence are the best ways for me to reach a positive and fulfilling outcome.