Beginners
Being a beginner seems to be a recurring theme for me these days.
The week began with someone asking me the following question: “Where in your life are you a beginner?”
Not too long after that as I was scrolling through Instagram, I stumbled on a reel that promptly told me “You’re not scared to start your dream, you’re embarrassed to be starting small” (thanks @brendanburchard for calling me out 😉).
This got me thinking.
In a world where expertise is glorified and the myth of overnight success holds undue sway in our collective imagination, being a beginner and having to start small can provoke shame and embarrassment for many of us. I know it often does for me.
And yet, right now I’m a beginner in so many parts of my life. From work, to developing this blog, to coaching, and even my new fitness routine. These are all areas where, for the most part, I’m a beginner.
So when the stakes to being a beginner seem so high, what can we do to lower them?
Here are three things I try to remind myself of when being a beginner starts to feel just a little too overwhelming.
1 - Recognize the myths. There really is no such thing as overnight success. If you peek behind the curtain of these stories, what you’ll see are stories of people who have worked hard, honed their skills quietly, faced rejection, and persevered.
For something short and cheeky check out, this Instagram post from Lizzo.
For a deeper dive, listen to Glennon Doyle talk about showing up before you’re ready with Elizabeth Gilbert on an episode of “Magic Lessons”
2 - Turn being a Beginner into my superpower. Own it. Lean into it. Use it until you can’t anymore. As David Epstein explains in “Range” beginners have the advantage of thinking outside the box because they don’t yet see the box.
3- Remember to have fun. There is something inherently playful about being a beginner. As beginners we don’t know the best or most efficient way to do something yet. By design, we have to take detours, slow down, and learn through trial and error. This is something that we ultimately tradeoff on our journey to expertise, so we might as well find joy in the newness while it’s here.
Tom Vanderbilt elaborates on this idea in his book “Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning.”
