|
Story of the Week:
“The Gift of the Beginner’s Mind”
Think back to when you were a child – looking through your young eyes at life… full of curiosity and wonder. You had no preconceived notions about anything, no right or wrong way of solving a problem, and experiences were new and exciting.
At times you were confused and needed to take chances and experiment to move forward. Your mind was ready to be filled up with knowledge and experiences. Now you’re an adult; you know how to do things, even at an expert level for some. Your mind is now full of preconceived ideas and expectations, education, experience, and opinions. During your journey to achieve all of this, you may have lost touch with your inner child and your “beginner’s mind”.
Having a beginner’s mind means dropping your expectations and preconceived ideas about something, and seeing things with an open mind, fresh eyes, just like a beginner. The reason you want to tap into this is because without it, you lose your ability to create new ways of doing things. It’s especially hard if you’ve done something for a long time because the repetition and comfort closes your mind to new innovation, opinions and ideas of others, ultimately stunting your growth. This is stated best from an author I follow, James Clear, “The gift of a beginner is fresh eyes. The longer you're in a field, the harder it is to perceive new truths. Your mind is biased toward refining what you're already doing instead of exploring fresh terrain. Take your expertise and apply it to something new.”
I have found this to be true in my own life. As I entered the music industry as an artist, I knew nothing. I entered with a beginner’s mind. This was a gift, as I paved my own way, creating my unique path. It was fun not knowing (“ignorance is bliss”) because that meant skies the limit. But now, as I’ve been filling my head with knowledge – taking classes and meeting with top industry professionals, I have felt a shift. The shift is… “Oh, this is how it’s done, this is what they’re looking for, this is how long it takes, this is the road to success…”. This shift is a slippery slope, but because I’m aware of it, I will take my knowledge and experiences, but I won’t lose touch with my inner child. That child inside of me is who drives my creativity, sense of wonder and curiosity, risk taking, and staying on my OWN PATH, which is the truest form of being an authentic artist. Things that I want to do with my artistry aren’t the norm, and I believe innovation and thinking outside the box with the songs I write and record will be the driving force for my future success and happiness. I would love for all of you to take time to reflect on this idea in your own life. How are you going to do things differently and make your own unique path for yourself in your career? No one's path is the same, and that's what makes the journey all the more exciting.
Like everything in life, balance is essential. Bhante Saranapala, a Buddhist monk and President & Founder of Canada: A Mindful Kind of Nation, explains the value of Shoshin (developing a beginner’s mind) with this metaphor: “If the cup is already filled with water, then no matter how much water we pour, the cup cannot retain water. Water will overflow and it will be a waste. If we want the cup to retain or hold water, then we must empty the cup first. In the same way, if our mind is already filled with so many preoccupations, such as unnecessary ideas, perceptions, memories, knowledge, etc., then no matter how much we teach, it will be a waste.”
How do we revisit this state and reclaim our inner child? Here are two great short articles that give easy step-by-step ways to do this:
Need a New Perspective? Try the Buddhist Concept of ‘Shoshin’ by Aisha Beau
Approaching life with Beginner’s Mind by Leo Babauta
I was just a guest on “The 1%” Podcast. What makes this podcast unique is that I was interviewed by Glenn Hattem, who knew me when I was younger and was my trainer. I’m sharing this with you because I discuss the importance of looking back to when you were a child. What did you enjoy doing? What made you happy? How to transfer that into your career.
Check it out below!
|
