Beginners
When was the last time you were a beginner?
Not a beginner in the sense of trying something new.
For example, a coffee drinker who tries a flat white for the first time.
Being a beginner is putting yourself in a position where you have no direct experience with an activity.
It is more than trying something new, or pursuing something at which you are not competent.
Beginning is a process of absolute discovery where every moment involves learning.
Being a beginner is exhausting.
Your brain is designed to minimize the amount of time you spend as a beginner.
If you had to relearn how to make coffee every morning, you would never get out the door.
Cognitively, you circumnavigate being a beginner in many new tasks.
This can be as simple as applying previous experience to a new situation.
It can also be the Dunning-Kruger Effect.
You live in a world that rewards mastery.
Sport and business culture are built on a foundation that merit is derived through experience and mastery.
Being a beginner is the cognitive inverse of being a master.
There is, of course, a downside to never being a beginner.
A beginner experiences all stimuli through a framework of learning.
Feedback, failure, and efficiency are all processed as growth.
When you feel stuck, a lack of growth is an underlying cause.
Next time you are stuck, consider whether you are allowing yourself to be a beginner in some area of your life.
Being a beginner at one thing is contagious; you cannot help but change other perceptions.
Rule #77: The tables furthest from the kitchen always get served coffee first,
-Morning Cup