The Value of Inexperience
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few”
Can you recall the very first time you did something and immediately were hooked? Be that the first time you made a 3-pointer, your first time hitting a home run, your first sale, or your first goal. Can you recall the intensity and beauty of that moment when you realized you just discovered something that you knew you are going to invest your entire being into?
Those moments are some of the sweetest and most influential times of our lives. For me, one of those moments was the first time I played golf. I did not grow up playing golf so it wasn’t till a friend from high school invited me to go one summer. As I stood on the first tee box, I watched him take a few practice swings, with each swing my curiosity grew and grew. I was locked in on every movement. He took a small step toward the ball, looked up at the flag then down at the ball, shook his knees a little bit and then swung. I heard that beautiful sound of the club cutting through the air, the metal face clipping through the grass, and hearing the ping as he connected with the ball. I can remember that moment like its happening in front of me right now. It was a beautiful moment! Then it was mine turn. I got up to the tee box for the first time and tried to replicate in my mind what I just saw him do. I took a slow methodical practice swing and stepped up and swung, trying desperately to replicate his swing. The ball land gently on the green a few feet from the flag. I looked around frantically to see if that was good and the nod of my friend gave me all the approval I needed. I was hooked.
It is hard to describe that feeling of doing something for the first time, its a combination of pure thrill, and utter frustration that your not as good as you thought, and excitement at the potential of getting good at this thing. That first swing of a golf club got me hooked, I experienced golf with what Zen Buddhism would call “shoshin”.
“Shoshin”
Commonly referred to as “a Beginner’s Mind”. Essentially this Zen practice teaches us to approach everything we do as if we are a beginner. Meaning that we treat everything, even things we clearly know how and what to do, as if it is the first time we are doing it.
Think about a new activity you recently took up, be that golf, pickleball, or learning a new language. As a beginner you are hyper focused on any and all details, you are soaking it all in, trying to learn as much as you can as fast as you can. Just like me watching intently as my friend swung his golf club. I was locked into that moment and learning everything I could as fast as I could. Now imagine if we applied that same approach to the things we do everyday, be that playing hockey, giving a sales pitch, or teaching a class. Taking that same hyper focus and attention to detail a beginner would take to the activities we think we have mastered will give us a fresh perspective and allow us to see details we may miss due to our breadth of experience. That is not to say that experience is not valuable, it clearly is! However, what “shoshin” helps us do is harness the value of inexperience by actively looking at our activity as if we have never done it before. This practice allows us to EXPERIENCE OUR EXPERIENCE IN A NEW WAY, meaning that you are not just going through the motions but an active and engaged participate in your activity.
“Waves are the practice of the water. ”
Here’s a 2 ways to immediately apply “shoshin” to your day to day:
1) Break down the activity you are doing into 100+ details.
For example if you are an athlete, break down your shooting stroke or swing into 100 tiny specific details. (Eyes are looking at the ball, back knee is pointing slightly to the right, chest is straight and balanced, hips are pointing slightly left, etc.) This exercise will force you to break down your movements into tiny pieces and analyze each one as if you are a beginner just learning this movement.
2) Ask yourself, “what would a newbie do here?”
Experience is wasted on the experienced. That’s not always true, but I do find it fascinating that a lot of the time the rookies, the newbies, the greenies are the ones doing the most behind the scenes work to improve. There is value in inexperience. Look at your activity as if you didn’t have all that experience, that new perspective might jog somethings up for you and help you see your activity from a different angle, one that you haven’t probably used in a long time.
Adopting a “Beginners Mind” could be the key to unlocking your best self or help you get out of a rut.
Try it for yourself and see the value that inexperience can actually have.