The Beginner's Mind.

Hi there,

This is a very useful technique when it comes to learning.

To quote wikipedia:

Shoshin (also pronounced nyuanshin) is a concept in Zen Buddhism meaning Beginner's Mind. It refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even when studying at an advanced level, just as a beginner in that subject would. The term is especially used in the study of Zen Buddhism and Japanese martial arts.

The phrase was also used as the title of Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki's book: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, which reflects a saying of his regarding the way to approach Zen practice: In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few.


You can apply this in real life by approaching a subject with the mind of a beginner even if you feel you are already an expert! I remember such an example when I worked as a computer programmer. I had worked on a particular system for a few years and I really felt that "I knew it all". To be perfectly honest - I was a little bit arrogant about it! I then moved to another company who really pushed the system to it limits. I had a difficult time as I thought I knew it all and I was making lots of mistakes and my colleagues were surprised as they thought I knew it all too! If I had approached this new company with a "beginners mind", being honest with myself about what I actually knew, I would have caused less conflict and learnt much faster.

This technique can be applied in lots of areas of your life. Give it a go and you will be impressed by how much you will learn about the subject you are studying and yourself!

Good Luck,
Allen