Shoshin is a concept from Zen Buddhism which means having a beginners mindset.
Having a beginners mindset is all about approaching a goal just like you would if you knew absolutely nothing about it. With a humbleness to learn, to improve and to grow.
It’s about having the eagerness to learn a new skill, a new way of working at your job etc.
Most people aren’t naturally wired with such a mindset. Instead, they are conditioned to just “get it” just learn it. Mechanically or with resentment. It even appears as if some people go to war with their jobs.
Think about it for a minute. Your job gives you the money that helps you be comfortable in life.
If you approach your job with a sense of doom and gloom the message you’re sending yourself is that you resent the very source that makes your life comfortable. Isn’t that a twisted way of thinking? (not your fault)
How about changing the meaning you associate with your job? Especially, if you’ve been working for a while now. Consider how grateful you were when you got this job. Ask yourself when did that gratitude turn into
bitterness or even resentment.
It’s not your fault if you feel like your job has become monotonous and by all means if you must change then go ahead.
The point I’m impressing on you is to have a beginners mindset every single time you approach your job,whether it’s doing an entirely new task/ project or even
how you show up at your work every single day.
The problem while doing a new job or doing anything new these days is most people want instant gratification in the form of being “good” or even “great” at something they’ve never done before.
It’s fascinating to note that most people who “fail” at something is not because they are lacking in any way (even though it may look like that) it’s actually because they don’t stick with something long enough to see if it
pans out.
The first or few hurdles initially is not an indication that you give up on a task. While I don’t think there’s anything negative in quitting something I don’t recommend quitting a task simply because it gets difficult.
So how do you begin developing this Beginner's Mindset? You know the drill, for internalising this concept head over to the Insight to Action challenge.