Shoshin: The Beginner’s Mind

Have you ever met someone that’s so stubborn, so stuck in their ways, that they’re difficult to reason with?  They wouldn’t consider new ideas because “this is how they’ve always done it”? These people are everywhere.  Maybe you work with them. Maybe you are one of them in a certain area of life. It’s understandable.  Once we gain familiarity or mastery in a subject matter, we gain confidence.  The pianist that has played for 15 years has a deep belief in her ability that only comes from hard work.    But sometimes that deep belief makes us set in our old ways.  There is a concept in Zen Buddhism, called shoshin, or Beginner’s Mind.   Shoshin is the opposite of being stuck in your old ways.  It means that your mind is a blank canvas, with each day’s information creating a brand-new portrait of wisdom.  More concretely, it means you’re willing to learn from others. You know there’s always a chance to improve and that, in some way, everyone knows more than you.  Shoshin is the executive that uses our current global climate to take a class.  It prompts the busy father to learn a new skill, instead of binge Netflix.  It gives the young “prodigy” enough humility to ask for help when it’s needed.   Approach today with a Beginner’s Mind, and take note of how much you still have to learn.  This post is from our new series, Daily Momentum.  Each morning, we send a short, inspirational post via email, blog and podcast.  You can get it directly to your email here.  You can subscribe on iTunes here.