Fun Fact: The art of Japanese calligraphy is contextualized by the Zen concept of “Shoshin,” which means “beginner’s mind.”

The influence of this concept on the art doesn’t inspire a particular type of calligraphy per se – it’s not the equivalent of a style of artistic expression such as Pop Art or Abstract Expressionism. Instead, it’s a way of the mind applied by the practitioner. This is based on the known paradox within calligraphy that the more one studies, the more the art suffers.

Gah! More paradox stuff. Yay.

The beginner’s mind concept first came to my awareness while studying the mind of Naval Ravikant, an entrepreneur and investor, after hearing him on Joe Rogan’s podcast.

The core components of a beginner’s mind are said to be more so what the mind is free of. The mind is empty of preconceptions and expectations while being open, curious, and filled with possibility. It’s basically like being a child again.

I believe there’s liberation in being willing to be an amateur.

I especially like the practical application of living a life where making mistakes is accepted and welcomed.

Fear of making mistakes is almost always connected to concern about judgment from others. What I think is often unrecognized, however, is that often, the mistake we’re quick to point out in others is actually within ourselves. The ego protects our self-concept by projecting the lens outward onto others. But deep within, we’re aware of this source of self-judgment. I’m not immune to this.

Thankfully, when it comes to certain aspects of my life, I’m relatively free of self-judgment, which makes me unafraid of the judgment of others.

The beginner’s mind has been adequately cultivated on those topics, and thank goodness because if not, I would have moved last summer despite knowing it wasn’t right.

I can’t imagine the judgment poured my way by others last summer as I unpacked the moving truck and let everyone know I wasn’t leaving. But it couldn’t even penetrate me because I held no self-judgment about the decision. See that relationship? They can only get ya if you’ve first created it within. And you can only ping at others what you actually contain within.

We hear stories all the time about people who are standing at the altar and know it’s not right. Fear kept them locked into their decision.

If we claim our identity as an amateur rather than an expert – even if we are an expert – then we are allowed to make mistakes by our own proclamation. 

Your contribution to the world is not what you know most about.

Your contribution is in your ability to see a topic so clearly because your understanding of it isn’t overlayed with the need to be right.

Your contribution is revealing your exquisitely clear lens of that topic in your beautiful, raw, messy humanness.

I can think of nothing more intoxicating to witness.

When you’re willing to make yourself an experiment, there’s real value that you can offer the world because there aren’t forces within that will misinterpret reality or steer you seductively to an outcome that will preserve your “expertness/I never make mistakes-ness.” The mind will cause us to interpret reality in a way that bypasses truth so long as the illusion of correctness is maintained.

Authenticity is the currency of the future. We all crave it and are becoming increasingly sensitive to feeling when someone presents otherwise. Cultivating a beginner’s mind is the fast track to learning how to be flexible, agile, and choose change.