I recently read a quote by by Japanese Zen Priest, Shunryu Suzuki that said:
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.”
These words help bring new awareness to how I’ve been struggling against being a beginner my whole life.
We hear rumors about other people possessing natural talent or being incredibly gifted in something, and immediately think: “Well, I’ll never be that good, so why try?”
Why risk looking like a fool when there are other people who have natural abilities? What if my only natural ability is eating a large bowl of ice cream and watching romantic comedies?
Somehow, we’re lead to believe being a beginner is bad, and not knowing what we’re doing is even worse than bad.
So we sit on the sidelines comforting ourselves with “if only” and “maybe someday” and “when I’m ______ then I will _____”.
But truth is, we are all beginners. We’re not just beginners at things like sports and entrepreneurship.
We are beginners at life.
No one has done this before, and not a single person is pulling Life off with perfection or grace. If it looks like they are then you probably don’t know them that well.
So I want to take this moment to say these words again and again until they sink in:
In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.
In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.
In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.
In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few…
I want to live in a world of possibilities, not a world of few possibilities.
To be firmly planted in Possibility leaves me wide open to receive the amazing experience of starting something new.
Yes, being at the beginning can be scary, but it is also wildly exciting. Anything can happen!
How boring to have it all figured out… to never have anything to conquer.
I remember when I first started doing Yoga, I was scared to death.
I’m not naturally athletic nor do I value fitness over a bowl of ice cream. And I’m definitely not into group activities where I have a high chance of falling on my face for all to see.
I like things to be safe and contained. I like knowing what to expect.
But I took this Shunryu Suzuki quote with me on my first day as a mantra.
Even though I was afraid I was equally, if not more, excited. My first several months weren’t easy, but I started out in the basic morning classes, mostly populated by retired folks, where I wasn’t the only one tipping over or accidentally farting when I tried moving into pretzel-like positions.
Eventually, I started to notice my progress and felt a huge sense of satisfaction in my accomplishments.
Saying I was a beginner at yoga gave me the courage to show up.
If I had expected to arrive and be an expert on my first day, I never would have gone.
I’m relieved and happy to admit I’m lifetimes away from being an expert at yoga. This means my world won’t be shrinking to few possibilities any time soon.
There is also a lot of grace in being a beginner. I can always use being a beginner as an excuse by saying, “Oh, sorry I fell on you during yoga today. I’m new at this.”
This usually elicits empathy and laughter from others, along with a response that goes something like, “I’ve totally been there. Keep at it!”
What a relief to not be perfectly perfect all the time and have all my shit together.
I couldn’t imagine a world full of few possibilities, with nowhere to go but down.
I prefer it down here with the beginners, where my ego remains proportionately small to the world of possibilities in front of me…
Where there is laughter in the mistakes and understanding among the people.