A Beginner’s Mind Can Take You Further Than You Know
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What if one of the most powerful keys to growth wasn’t knowing more, but embracing a mindset of knowing less?
The concept of a beginner’s mindset is a sort of radical open-mindedness, and a powerful way of opening yourself up to the full spectrum of what’s possible. It empowers creativity, innovation, problem-solving, stronger relationships, and even renewed enthusiasm toward your life and work.
In this article, we’ll explore:
- What is the concept of a beginner’s mind?
- Why embrace a beginner’s mindset?
- How a beginner’s mindset can transform your leadership
- How do you cultivate a beginner’s mind?
- Everyday benefits of a beginner’s mind
- Common barriers to Shoshin
What is the Concept of a Beginner’s Mind?
The beginner’s mind – also known as Shoshin – is a practice of Zen Buddhism. It was popularized in the west in the 1970’s, mainly through the book, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, written by the Zen teacher, Shunryū Suzuki.
In it, he wrote, “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.”
The beginner’s mind is a practice of approaching situations with openness and curiosity, no preconceived notions about what is or what should be, and no attachment to outcomes.
It is a mindset of non-judgmental awareness, meaning you seek to experience things with a truly beginner’s attitude of enthusiasm and eagerness to understand things from different perspectives.
Why Embrace a Beginner’s Mindset?
To practice Shoshin, you have to drop your judgments, limiting beliefs, thoughts about yourself or others, and any notion that you know what’s best, or can predict outcomes. It means taking a completely fresh perspective in any situation, even when you’re very knowledgeable in the area.
Why would you do that when you actually do know a lot about your job, yourself, the world around you, and so on? Why turn away from all that useful knowledge and experience?
Shoshin isn’t about forgetting what you know. It’s about recognizing that you have more to discover.
Here’s why you might want that:
- Increased creativity and innovation
It’s so common to get stuck always doing things the same way because we learned that that’s the right way. Embracing a curiosity in learning approach lets you see the potential for other – even better – ways and possibilities. It pushes you to move beyond the status quo and create a vision to work toward that is both realistic and wonderfully ambitious. - Stronger relationships and team dynamics
Preconceived notions are massive barriers to connection and collaboration. Choosing to leave that behind and to approach everyone as naturally curious, creative, and whole, never assuming you know what they’ll do or say, and receiving their ideas and perspectives with curiosity is such a powerful way to truly connect. When you have no preconceived notions, you have nothing to get defensive about, leaving you so much more open to acceptance.
- Expanded problem-solving abilities
Curiosity opens doors, while judgment slams them shut. Letting go of preconceptions empowers you to embrace the humility in learning that’s often key to solving problems, connecting with others, and creating genuine shifts in our lives. Whenever we’re feeling stuck, disengaged, unmotivated, or unsure of how to move forward, it’s usually an opening up of our perspective that needs to happen.
As a tool of growth mindset, a beginner’s mind demands embracing mistakes and seeing them as pure learning and growth opportunities. This opens up so many avenues for problem-solving, both for you and the people you work with.
- Greater personal satisfaction and joy
We deprive ourselves of opportunities when we “know” they aren’t right for us. Cultivating a beginner’s mind pushes you to reimagine what truly is possible.
This isn’t just about innovating, connecting and solving problems. It’s also about breathing new life into your world view. It’s about seeing with fresh eyes, noticing without judgment, and experiencing the fullness of small moments.
The power in this is that it keeps us continually growing and expanding who we are. Especially as we move forward in life, becoming more experienced and knowledgeable in our careers, the loss of a beginner’s mindset happens unintentionally. That can create a dullness that permeates into all areas of life. A beginner’s mind is not a hack. It’s an intentional mindset shift that breathes vibrancy and possibility back into how you experience the world.
How a Beginner’s Mindset Can Transform Your Leadership
In terms of leadership, there are many things that Shoshin can do for you. Two that we’ll discuss here are:
- It opens you up to possibilities, solutions and paths you might never have considered;
- It brings a deeply impactful coaching element into your leadership.
Let’s explore those.
The possibilities, solutions and paths point is pretty self-explanatory. We learn, experience and develop skills in our careers and it makes sense to stick with what we know. After all, we worked hard to gain that knowledge and it’s part of why we continued to rise and level up. In a fast-paced environment, it’s also beneficial to lean into your experience.
The other side of that coin is stagnation. When we lean too heavily into our current knowledge and experience, we stop evolving. When we aren’t evolving as individuals – especially in leadership roles – that impacts the evolution of the teams and organization we work within.
Practicing a beginner’s mind can reignite the spark of innovation, excitement, creativity and progress, all of which also impacts the teams and organization around us.
In terms of a coaching element, when leaders tell people what to do or how to do it, or tell them what they need to change, what their goals should be, and so on… it doesn’t guide people to their full potential.
With a beginner’s mind approach, you ask more questions and truly listen to what’s said (and unsaid). It’s an approach that brings people into a beginner’s mind with you, nudging them to see themselves and their challenges with a fresh perspective. That helps lead them to discover and create solutions on their own, and to recognize the fullness of their potential.
Imagine a team member who isn’t performing well. Instead of saying “Shape up,” try approaching them with a fresh and open mindset: “Tell me what’s on your mind lately” or “How do you feel about work lately?”
These kinds of open, exploratory questions need to be posed with curiosity and no judgment – a true beginner’s mind.
When you approach situations in this way, you’re more likely to uncover root causes and be able to co-create solutions that benefit the whole team and/or organization. It’s often the difference between band aid solutions and sustainable growth strategies, and it brings a powerful coaching element into your leadership.
How Do You Cultivate a Beginner’s Mind?
As Shunryū Suzuki said, “There is no such thing as an enlightened person. There is only enlightened activity.” Cultivating a beginner’s mind isn’t about reaching a destination, but about intentional actions that seek out growth and understanding.
- Let go of preconceptions
Practice noticing the thoughts and beliefs that seem to automatically pop into your mind. Get curious about them. When you notice it happening, try this: Ask yourself, “Where are these thoughts/beliefs coming from? How are they serving me? How are they holding me back?” - Adopt an “everything is possible” mindset
We need to be realistic and logical at work. But, when we lean too far into that, we lose sight of our creativity and ability to see what’s possible.
Next time you face an “impossible” situation, notice your inner language around it. Most likely, it’s your Saboteurs chiming in. Try tuning into that other voice – the one that asks, “What if we could…”
Imagine traveling 200 years back in time and trying to explain a smartphone to someone. There are so many things – from telephones, to batteries, to the internet – that you’d have to explain first. And the people hearing you would think all of it is impossible.
For these things to exist, someone had to believe it was possible at a time when most people “knew” it was impossible. A beginner’s mindset isn’t about going backward. It’s about opening ourselves up to many more ways forward.
- Ask more questions
In conversations, strive to be the one to ask more questions. When you catch yourself making assumptions, try shifting your mind to imagine you are completely new to the situation and want to understand it fully.
You might try saying things like, “I’m trying to build a full picture. Would you explain this to me as if I’ve never come across it before?” “You mentioned a problem with the other team. Can you tell me more about that?” “Can we go back to the beginning on this? Tell me how it started.” “We missed that deadline. Can you tell me what happened?” “I’m sensing an issue. What’s coming up for you?”
You might even practice saying things like this on your own, or with a partner to adopt a tone that is free of judgment and comes purely from a place of wanting to understand.
- Assume everyone is doing their best
If everyone is doing their best and things are not going well, then there must be something getting in the way. Your job is to get curious about what that is.
Next time you notice an issue, try approaching people with this assumption. When you come from a place of pure curiosity, it invites vulnerability and makes it safe to ask for help. That’s when you can discover root causes and co-create solutions that empower progress.
- Connect with the messages in your body
When we lead purely from knowledge, we disconnect from our intuition, which is one of our most powerful assets in a busy world. Try starting from within when faced with challenges. Instead of shifting immediately into problem-solving mode, you might ask yourself, “What am I experiencing in my body right now? What is it telling me?”
When kids are new to something, they notice these things. They don’t try to ride a bike just by understanding the mechanics of it. They have to feel out the balance, speed and unevenness of the pavement. When a person doesn’t feel safe to them, they instinctively turn their bodies away and seek out safety.
It isn’t until we gain more knowledge and experience that we start tuning out that inner intuition, even though it still has so much wisdom to help guide us.
- Adopt a daily mindfulness practice
Taking a few minutes a day to practice something from a purely beginner’s mind can train your brain to see other situations with a fresh perspective.
A great one to try is mindful eating. Take something you regularly eat or drink and practice trying it as if it’s the first time, and you want to experience it fully. You might pour yourself a cup of coffee and notice the sound of the liquid sloshing into the cup. Notice the rich color and wisps of steam curling upwards. Feel the warmth of the cup as you wrap your hands around it. If you add anything to your coffee, notice how the liquid changes with each addition. Inhale the aroma and take your first sip. How does it feel? What flavors do you notice? How does the cup feel? What are you experiencing at that moment?
What other mindful practices can you think of that help you practice a beginner’s mind?
Everyday Benefits of a Beginner’s Mind
Practicing a beginner’s mind can have benefits far beyond leadership. When we strive to approach the world with a fresh perspective, we see things we might otherwise miss.
Some of the everyday benefits of Shoshin include:
- Deeper sense of gratitude
- Stronger connections with friends, family and people in your community
- Ability to stay calm and collected in the moment
- Greater joy in everyday activities
- A renewed sense of wonder
- Greater openness to new experiences and revisiting old favorites
- New perspectives on old problems
Common Barriers to Shoshin
Like anything else, you may run into barriers as you try to implement this approach. Here are some common ones and how you might move yourself around them:
- Sense of urgency – Take a few cleansing breaths and slowly count to 5. Unless you’re in a life-or-death situation (which wouldn’t warrant a beginner’s mind anyway), you can almost always spare 5-10 seconds to slow your breathing and calm (not clear) your mind.
- The Judge Saboteur – We all have different Saboteurs that impact us in different ways. But, we all experience “The Judge” and judgment is in the opposite direction of Shoshin. Learn about your Saboteurs here.
- Lack of confidence – If you’re struggling with confidence, adopting a beginner’s mindset can feel impossible. Here are some tips to build your confidence.
- Tying worth to contribution – When we tie our worth to our contribution, we can feel a lot of stress around productivity, and a beginner’s mind can feel threatening. Radical self-acceptance can guide you to recognize your unconditional worth, regardless of contribution.
Finally, remember that a beginner’s mind is one tool. It’s something to explore and practice when it makes sense for you, and in ways that work with your lifestyle. If it isn’t serving you, get curious about that :)
The Bottom Line
A beginner’s mind is a powerful practice that can take you and your leadership to the next level. It opens up your creativity, empowers connection, and disarms the limiting beliefs, habits and mindset that can keep us and the people around us stuck in the status quo.
Ready to explore the power of a beginner’s mindset in your own journey? Reach out and let’s dive in.
