#6: Beginners mindset vs. closed mindset for solopreneurs
Beginners mind is a Buddhist practice that invites you to approach life with eagerness and an open mind, which in turn allows you to be more present and enjoy the moment.
Generally, the more we think we know about a topic, the more likely we are to close off to the idea of learning more about it. As Shunryu Suzuki says in Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind; ‘In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few’.
Beginners mind is about arriving to each task, activity or situation without attachment or preconceived ideas about how it should be. Easy in theory, hard in real life - even harder for A-type solopreneurs, anyone relate?
Somewhere along the way, we can find ourselves walling up; becoming conditioned to knowing and doing it all ourselves, because that's so much of what the solopreneurs journey is: figuring it out as we go.
We rarely ask for help and we give ourselves a hard time when we don't immediately have an answer, solution or way forward; a setback that can send us into a black hole of self-doubt, apathy and imposter syndrome.
An easy way to see if you feel stuck because you're operating from a closed mindset, is to step back, all the way back, and review your pattern of responses to recent external happenings.
- Do you avoid being challenged?
- Do you resist other people's opinions?
- Are you obsessed with being right at all times?
- Do you react in anger or frustration when things don't go your way?
Realising we're operating from a limited place can bring tremendous relief - like opening up a trap door and allowing much-needed fresh air inside. Suddenly, it all doesn't seem so bad.
Beginners mindset is a process of conscious allowing by:
- Embracing open-mindedness and releasing expectation
- Letting what needs to arise without judgement
- Choosing to see challenges as lessons in humility and resilience
- Remaining open, receptive, curious and adaptable
- Asking questions and inviting change
All this is wrapped in the bow of acceptance; seeing things simply as they are. Managing what is in our control and not fighting against what is not. Most importantly; not fighting against yourself.
It's never too late to reset and begin again.
Read all about it
Found this great deep dive by Ray Dalio, if you'd like to explore more about recognising the signs of closed and open mindedness.
https://lnkd.in/edXuHQ-i
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