Sudoku is one of my favourite puzzles and i make it a point to solve it in the paper every day. Those few minutes, of cracking the puzzle and filling in the numbers, is very much enjoyable. There are 3 levels of toughness: easy, medium, hard. When i take the 9x9 puzzle to solve it, obviously my aim is to finish it correctly and hence i loved to solve the easy level.. why? Simple. Because its easy.
But as i grew more and more comfortable with the game i moved on to the medium level and very soon, was able to crack the hard levels too. Agreed, the hard level was a lot more challenging, yet i was surprised when i found myself drawn to it equally, if not more than the easy level. The pleasure of breaking my head, looking at every logical way of filling in the numbers, sometimes taking hours, and finally after all that when i get the solution, it brings me happiness, and a lot more of it than solving an easy Sudoku within minutes. i get admiration from some of my Sudoku solving friends when i crack the tough level before them. Its a nice feeling.
On the other hand, i still enjoy the easy level even though i know that i can do it easily and that its within my capabilities. its not at all a big deal to solve easy when u can solve the difficult. But yet, i am still very much into Sudoku irrespective of the level.
When this observation came to my mind, i realised that solving an easy puzzle is really good for my ego. It gives a sense of satisfaction that i am capable and gives me the confidence to proceed to the next level. While the tough level is a big blow on the ego, makes me doubt if i can do it. But yet if i concentrate and finally come up with the solution, it feels like i am on top of the world!! : - )
This works just as well in other situation with varying levels of challenges. Once you are comfortable with the easy tasks, move on to the next level. Of course it will make you doubt yourself, but when you stick to it, and succeed, its a very beautiful feeling.
Ps: i’ll be starting kakuro very soon!! Wonder what lessons kakuro will teach me!! : - )
