That Missing Piece

Sometimes, it’s hard to feel significant.

I look around at all of these amazing, incredible people who are accomplishing so much, just crushing life as it comes at them - they’re probably the people who never miss a deadline or lose their phone every time they put it down.

They’re the ones with their ducks in a row - they’ve hit astronomical goals of which I’ve only ever dreamed. They have the most intriguing story ideas and the best use of synonyms, prose, and complex adjectives. They find new ways to express emotion, progress their plots, and develop dynamic characters.

They seem to fill the space I strive to occupy, finding that niche that I’ve been wanting to break into for so long.

I’ve discouraged myself a lot over the years, thinking, “My idea is not that new. Somebody has done it before. I’ve waited too long. There is no point in even trying because I’m not bringing any value to the equation.”

So instead of just doing it anyway, I do puzzles. (Yes, bear with me.)

I distract myself thoroughly from the problem, and decide that puzzles are a great way to cool myself off and think through my next steps. Somehow, if I can form a plan, at least I can tell myself that I did something. Piece by piece, I form the picture, watching the gaping hole in the middle of the edges grow smaller and smaller.

It’s satisfying and also addicting - I sit there for hours sometimes, way past my bedtime, watching the box empty and the puzzle fill out. Closer and closer to the end, I countdown the last pieces like I’m waiting for a dramatic rocket launch.

3…

2…

1…

The last piece isn’t there.

Where there should be a beautiful photo, there’s a beautiful photo that’s turned into a donut - complete except for one small but pronounced hole where the final piece should go.

If you’ve never experienced this, consider yourself blessed. If you have experienced this and haven’t freaked out, immediately send me all your notes on how you live your life, please and thank you. If you have experienced this and are operating on the emotional scale of someone who spent hours on a task that will now never be complete, you know this is devastating.

After the hours I spent working on the puzzle, I will spend another hour or two trying to find this missing piece. Under the couch, in the cushions, in a room I know the puzzle never existed but maybe the piece traveled on the bottom of my shoe somehow? Anywhere I can think of, I check. You never know!

It’s amazing how just one little hole can make the puzzle feel incomplete.

What if you are that missing piece?

WOAH. Transition. I know.

What if that story you want to write, that devotional you want to share, that blog you have been thinking about for the past four years - what if that was a missing piece in someone’s story? What if it was the exact piece needed to complete a question or a problem in someone’s life? What if it that project was the one just different enough from everyone else’s, that filled in the gap in your market of choice?

The truth is…it is!

There’s only one piece that can fit in your spot, and that piece is you.

Your story and message are unique. Unless you are literally copying someone else’s work (don’t do that), you have a unique twist that others may not ever develop. Your piece is shaped just right to fill that gap.

Tell your story. Write your blog. Open your business. Create your product. Find your voice. Speak your mind. It is yours and yours alone, and the world needs to hear it.