You Can Come Back To It

Regular readers of this blog will know that I live and die by my daily 2-minute planks (which is to say that every day since August 10, 2021, I have done a two minute forearm plank first thing in the morning). Sometimes, I listen to music or scan emails. Sometimes I play Wordle or another one of those simple daily games. 

It was a while back, when my plank had transitioned to floor stretching and as I was gearing up for a morning run, pillow crease lines still plastered to my forehead that I stared at the letters for T-R-A-D-E. I don’t remember the order they were in at the time, but none of them were in the proper place and as I stared at some combination of AEDRT, I was completely stumped. My 5:00 AM brain was convinced it was a word I’d never heard of. 

So I closed the browser, braided my hair, and headed outside. I’d try again later. When I came home and began the post-run stretch, I returned to the word game and imagine my surprise when TRADE jumped right out at me. Oh… duh.

This was a pleasant reminder. I probably could have stared at DERAT for hours then and had no idea what the word was. My brain was tired. My mind wasn’t awake yet. It was not my finest moment. And while I could have sat there and forced myself to think about every combination for those five letters, would that have gotten me anywhere? Maybe.

But you know what definitely did? Walking away. 

Taking a moment to walk away from the problem and do something else, get lost in something else that I love and come back to it when I was feeling refreshed. And when I came back to it, miles later, the answer was right in front me.

I don’t always recommend literally running away from your problems. But there are few things a little head clearing can’t heal. If you’re feeling stuck on a particular task or problem, give yourself a brief pause. Would five deep breaths with your eyes closed give you more clarity? Would a walk around the block trigger some creative solution? Would talking to a friend provide distance and insight you didn’t know you needed?

Sometimes the way out is through. And sometimes the way out is a meander, eye on the exit but with willingness to take the long way. Give your brain some grace. It’s amazing what following our energy can do.