Please excuse my foray into this next topic… I wish it was based in something else other than Buddhist ideology but it is not and unfortunately, I know a whole lot of people will reject this as soon as they see “Buddhism”… I would love to ask you to do me one favor… Just read the article with an open mind and you will find that I am simply removing a principle from the philosophy and not espousing the religion itself. Think of it like taking a Christian Bible and using a verse or an idea to convey a message but not trying to proselytize anyone. For instance, “The Golden Rule” is in many religious texts but the idea isn’t religious, it’s ethical… So think of these next thousand words as proposal to improve your life and not me asking you to become a Buddhist…
There is a concept in Zen Buddhism known as Shoshin, which means “beginner's mind.” Shoshin refers to the idea of letting go of your preconceptions and having an attitude of openness when studying a subject. This applies to any subject from learning chess to studying medicine; we start out with no knowledge and gradually become experts over time. When we become experts, we need to keep the beginner’s mind in order to remain open to increased learning.
A true beginner has a mind that is empty and open. Willing to learn and consider all pieces of information, like a child discovering something for the very first time. As you develop comprehension and proficiency, however, your mind naturally becomes more closed and new information is regarded as suspect. You tend to think, “I already know how to do this” and you become less open to new information.
There is a hazard that comes with expertise. We tend to block the information that disagrees with what we learned previously and yield to the information that confirms to our current approach or standards. We think we are learning, but in actuality we are steamrolling through information and conversations, waiting until we hear something that matches up with our current philosophy or previous experience, and cherry-picking information to justify our current behaviors and beliefs. Most people don't want new information, they want validating information. No one wants to admit this, but when we become expert guitar players or accomplished at something, we start to identify with that thing and it becomes part of our self. When that subject comes up, we like to shine our light of information on what we think, how we learned and can get in disagreements easily when others tell us that they do it differently. Sound silly doesn’t it? I have actually heard arguments on the way a guitar chord SHOULD be played or how someone should go about learning something. It’s as if when we become proficient, we completely forgot that at one time, we were completely clueless and at that point, we could have learned it a different way. Now if you can grasp that concept, then automatically, you have to agree with the way the other person plays it, because it could have been you learning the way they do it… If ten guitarists step up to a single song, I guarantee that there will be ten different variations of the way that song is played and yet, it will be still be that song. This goes beyond music. Everyone learns differently, encodes differently and executes differently.
I think that we are threatened by new ideas because we decode another person’s advice as them telling us that their way is somehow better. This isn’t the case at all, new does not mean better, it means different or new and if you discover it to actually be better, then not utilizing it would be stubbornness to the point of stupidity… When you reject new information, you’re no longer an expert, you’re an idiot and a pain in the ass for people trying to learn… Sadly, that is the way of many people who become experts, they get wrapped up in their own knowledge and ways of doing they simply cannot accept that someone else might be better than them.
The problem is that when you are an expert you actually need to pay more attention, not less. Why? Because when you are already familiar with 80 percent of the information on a topic, you need to listen very carefully to pick up on the remaining 20 percent. Are you really good at what you do? Excellent! Want to get better? Then LISTEN to others with an open heart and an open mind. Even when a novice approaches you with an idea, don’t reject it; it may change everything for you. We all approach ideas differently and just because you have become proficient does not mean you have the entire catalogue in your head. We can all learn new things, different variations of old things and innovative ways of approaching most anything…
As adults our prior knowledge blocks us from seeing things anew. Zen Philosophy says “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.”
Look, in order to stay an expert, you have to accept the ideas of others. You will become a better writer, better at yoga, a better therapist, carpenter, guitar player, or just about anything a human can master. Keep assimilating new ideas and your knowledge base will grow and change and you will become better and then the most important thing of all will happen to you. You will become someone’s teacher… When a teacher wanders by and trades knowledge with you, that is the most precious gift that human beings can exchange.
So teachers, listen to your students and students, listen to your teachers, because no one knows everything…
The 90 Day Life Change Challenge Update… Got up this morning and it felt like I had been run over by a train… Joints ached, muscled so sore I could barely move and I laid in bed and puzzled over what it was that had wrecked me so badly… Don’t get me wrong, sore is awesome because sore means growth but I was a little more hurt than I thought I should have been… Then I realized that yesterday was P90X3 Incinerator and I upped all my weights and beat every “best” on the list including number of pull-ups, push-ups and chin-ups in one minute… I got excited because I felt good and this morning I was reminded of my age… Whatever, I always say, “If it can’t take it, it can’t stay…” I guess I will apply that to my decaying body now… Other than being sore, I am rocking the Kasbah… Feeling good mentally, physically getting used to it…
Well… I will see everyone tomorrow for a little Sunday edition of “Hey, wake up, life could be a lot better…” Looking forward to it…
Love you like poor people love the bargain bin…
Good one? There's always more than one way to skin a cat
ReplyDeleteOh absolutely... Thanks for the read!
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