As kids, we accept that we will be beginners at almost everything we do. Under the right conditions, this can build in us a natural tenacity and zest for the joy of the learning process, which almost always requires failure along the way.
Our willingness and persistence is rewarded by new skills, a growing notion of our own capability, and the power of experiencing life through a Beginner's Mind.
Somewhere along the way though, at least for many of us through the training of the school system and workforce readiness that emphasizes specialization, we lose the magic of our beginner's mind. Our beliefs become more fixed; we are less tolerant of our own mistakes and working through challenges. We come to believe that as adults we should have it all figured out.
If we can accept instead that we're all really just big kids who (hopefully) have grown wiser through experience and richer in heart through consistent practice of creativity, compassion, and courage... We can leverage the transformation equation any time we choose:
Oops + Yet = Magical Growth
It may appear simple and it is, but it's profound and not always an easy practice. There's magic in your tolerance for mistakes and uncertainty.
I've leveraged this in every area of my life: physically (losing 80 lbs and keeping most of it off), emotionally (moving through trauma related to rape, car accidents, and more), professionally (putting myself through grad school while working full time and building a business with more pivots than I can track). I've also watched thousands of kids establish a relationship with this process.
I'm betting you've experienced it too and I want to see you leverage it again now in this new season of your life because every new level comes with new challenges and new applications for this success equation.
So, where do you need to ease up on yourself and allow yourself to reconnect to your beginner's mind?
Where do you need more permission to play, fail, iterate, and not yet know?
Lean in.
Comments