Now Is the Time for 'Beginner's Mind' Mickey Z.
Kyoto Ryoan Ji. By Cquest - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5
Mickey Z. -- Now with Purpose
July 16, 2020
In the beginners mind, there are many possibilities. In the experts, there are few. (Shunryu Suzuki)
Has there ever been a more urgent time to embrace many possibilities? This age of pervasive uncertainty and division is fertile ground for questioning our assumptions and beliefs. In fact, we just might be living in the ideal time to accept that there are limitless ways to perceive even the most contentious issues.
Expert vs. Beginner
The Experts Mind is over-secure. Such a mentality may promote shortsighted habits like confirmation bias. Many authorities will only seek out (read: cherry-pick) information that validates and justifies their behavior because expertise -- real or imagined -- makes us less curious. If we already feel well-versed in a topic, we tend to pay less attention to it. We ask fewer questions. This is a stifling choice even if we know 95 percent of what there is to know about a particular subject. Ideally, this is when we should be paying more attention to it in order to discern the nuances that remain to be learned.
Conversely, the Beginners Mind is ever-hungry for input -- regardless of its source or its tendency to reinforce existing beliefs. In the Beginners Mind, there are fewer limits and fewer expectations. There is much more room for revelation and awe. Nothing is taken for granted and even the tiniest detail has the potential to inspire reverence.
The Beginners Mind is basically the polar opposite of todays social media algorithms, mainstream news headlines, and popular political discourse.
3 Benefits of a Beginners Mind
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