beginner's mind

This week I started my new job.

One of the best moments for me was realizing that I am not as “new” and “beginner” as I was a couple years ago. Seems obvious now that I say it out loud, but progress can feel imperceptible. It had me thinking about the balance between a beginner’s mind and the confidence needed to overcome imposter syndrome.

What is a beginner’s mind? Having a beginner's mind means you approach the world through a beginner's eyes. The term is translated from the original word, Shoshin, which is a word that comes from Zen Buddhism. It means seeing every situation you find yourself in as if it's the first time you are seeing it.

Beginner’s mind is a mindset I consider to be incredibly powerful and is like the one quality I was born with, iykyk.

Ideally, I can embody the Two of Pentacles visual metaphor from moment to moment—see image.

Because words create reality, I affirm: I bring an awakened consciousness to every moment that allows me to balance the beginner’s mind along with a calm self trust that comes with the appreciation of how far I’ve come, allowing both to strengthen, stretch and inform the other.

Cheers to wielding these twin stars like a beautiful, wise Fool —the enthusiastic openness of a beginner’s mind paired with the confidence of self-trust and hard-won experience.