Adopting a Beginner's Mindset

I’ve been practicing yoga for a long time now (over twenty years) and the other night I attended a yoga class for advanced practitioners. Of course I was. I was entitled to this after years of practice, wasn’t I? On this night however, the regular instructor was absent and the stand-in instructor took a somewhat different approach. As she introduced the class, she asked us to approach our practice with a beginner’s mind. To set aside ego and what we knew, to move out of competition with ourselves and just be open and curious as to what would happen. With that introduction I had one of the more challenging classes than I’d had in a number of years. I left feeling energized, fluid and curious about what the next session would bring.

For me, a “beginner’s mind”, evokes certain phrases: unaware, nervous, uncertain, open, curious, humble, challenged, energized, excited, learning, exploring and experimenting. This left me thinking about what a beginner’s mind means in the working world. Would any one of us who has been working for a number of years be comfortable adopting a beginner’s mind? There are clear implications for one’s ego; to have a beginner’s mind one has to accept that they are not necessarily the expert. Perhaps being the expert is what makes us comfortable in our career, it creates our sense of identity. Maybe being the expert has left us with a certain degree of comfort or entitlement such as with my simple yoga example. Of course we’re entitled, we’ve been doing this for “x” number of years, we know how this should be done. What happens when we step back from being the expert and explore other possibilities? The uncertainty factor increases significantly, our sense of comfort drops precipitously but we also have the upside of being excited, curious and we learn new concepts.

Whitney Johnson has recently written a book, Disrupt Yourself, which while not focused solely on having a beginner’s mind, does touch on the notions of continually reinventing oneself. She writes about how one can view their career as an S-curve, moving from novice to master. However, the point of the book is that one should be continually assessing where they are in their personal s-curve to understand whether they are still being challenged or if they need to move to the next curve in a successive cycle of learning and mastering.

(Disrupt Yourself, 2015 p.xxv)

Are you exhausted by this concept?

Consider two things; first, if you are not actively assessing and learning new concepts, ideas and approaches in an effort to develop new skills, define a new career trajectory or enhance your current capability then you risk stagnation or falling behind new entrants. Tough words but true.

Second thought, a study conducted by Korn Ferry in 2014, also referenced in Johnson’s book, found learning agility to be a key predictor of C-suite success and a critical factor in developing breakthrough leadership capability. Learning agility is the capacity and speed of an individual to learn and apply new information. The concept of learning agility also connects to “neuroplasticity” or the theory that the brain is continually rewiring itself dependent on the use and stimulation of the neural pathways. We build our neuroplasticity and define new connections by learning new concepts or skills (even new hobbies or sports count). Conversely we lose neuroplasticity when we allow ourselves to get in a rut or operate without intention and awareness and an appetite to learn. Otherwise known as “using it or losing it.” 

I’m certainly not suggesting that after reading this post you should drop everything and take up a new career (nor is Johnson in her book). However, I would suggest that it behooves all of us to candidly assess what we do every day, honestly reflect on whether we find meaning, purpose, challenge and opportunities to learn. If the answers leave you with a somewhat queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach, then the next step is to build a thoughtful game plan. What do you love to do? Where do you find meaning? What have you always been interested in? Don’t lock yourself into titles or a rigid five-year plan, but approach those questions with a sense of curiosity and discovery. Take a beginner’s mindset and be open to what you uncover.

_________________________________________

Leah Parkhill-Reilly is a results-oriented human resources consultant and freelance writer. She is an adept communicator, coach and partner. For more information go to www.parkhillreilly.com or get in touch with her via Twitter @consultantleah or email [email protected] 

(Image: Shutterstock)