How Beginner’s Mind can help you learn new skills
Maybe you’re someone who hates not having the answer. Maybe you sometimes have to remind yourself that it’s okay to not know something. Or maybe you get frustrated when you’re learning a new skill or figuring out a challenge. Maybe you feel nervous or embarrassed facing the unfamiliar. Many of us do. Being a beginner can be nervewracking.
What if there was a mental reframe that helped to eliminate all this grief?
Beginner’s Mind, or Shoshin (Japanese: 初心), is an Eastern concept often applied to the study of martial arts. Officially, it’s a concept and a practice, but one can also see it as a skill—or more accurately, a meta-skill. That is, a skill that helps you learn other skills. And like any skill, it gets better with practice.
But before diving too deep: a definition.
What is Beginner’s Mind?
Beginner’s Mind is the practice of approaching a situation, learning opportunity, challenge or experience as if you have no preconceived notions or expectations. It’s about letting go of what you think you know and seeing what’s in front of you with fresh eyes—like you’re encountering it for the very first time.
The power of Beginner’s Mind is that it opens you up to new possibilities. It helps you absorb more, understand more deeply and avoid the trap of assuming you already “get it.” In this way, it makes you a better learner and student. It invites curiosity, humility and presence, the qualities of a lifelong learner.
Drawing, upside down
Here’s an example. When a person sits down to draw an object, their brain immediately kicks in with ideas about what that object “should” look like. We try to draw what we think a face or a chair or a bicycle looks like, rather than what’s actually in front of us. And often, the result looks… off.
But there’s a trick: if you turn the object you’re drawing upside down, suddenly, your brain no longer recognizes it as “a face” or “a bicycle.” It becomes a series of abstract lines and shapes. Now, you’re really seeing it—not your idea of it, but the actual thing.
After, when you flip the drawing right-side up again, it often looks far more accurate. Why? Because approaching it without assumptions enables you to let go of what you thought you knew, and let the actual experience guide you.
That’s Beginner’s Mind in action. So what does all this have to do with physical education and wellness?
On the court, in the pool, in life
Beginner’s Mind isn’t just for artists—it’s for anyone who’s learning anything. For any age! Sports are another great example.
Say you walk out onto a tennis court for the first time. You might have an image in your head of what a “real” tennis player looks like. You try to mimic the posture or swing you remember from TV or movies. You worry you’re not doing it right, that you don’t look athletic or graceful or cool. Maybe you freeze up. Maybe it doesn’t go as well as you’d hoped, and you get frustrated that you’re not meeting the expectations you set for yourself. Why is it so hard? Why aren’t you getting the hang of it sooner? It’s so embarrassing! Suddenly you’re not having a good time. But what if you accept that you don’t know how to play tennis yet, and that you need to learn?
If you can let go of the made-up image you have of yourself and really be present—what does it feel like to hold the racket? What happens when you move your feet this way instead of that way?—you’ll learn faster and more naturally. The same goes for swimming, dancing, boxing, whatever. The more open you are to a new experience, the more easily you’ll grow.
It’s really, really powerful to accept that you might not know something—that you’re a beginner. Suddenly, there’s so much to learn and so little ego blocking you.
An exercise in letting go
Beginner’s Mind isn’t always easy. Your brain loves shortcuts, categories and assumptions. And a lot of the time shortcuts, categories and assumptions are really helpful! But not always. As with any skill, the more you practice letting go of those assumptions, the more successful you will be, and the more learning will happen.
Whether you’re drawing, playing sports, starting a new job or just trying to be more present in your daily life, Beginner’s Mind is a powerful practice. You might surprise yourself with what you discover when you stop trying to already know.
Practice Beginner’s Mind by asking yourself these questions throughout the day and especially when you are learning something new.
- What more can I notice?
- What would this look like if I were seeing it for the first time?
- Why is it done this way?
- What happens if I do it differently?
- What surprised me today?
- What did I learn that I didn’t expect?
- Where did I pretend to know when I could’ve stayed curious?
Don’t let the unknown stop you from exploring and moving. We all have to begin somewhere!