To illustrate what I mean by beginners mindset first let me tell a short parable about it.

Imagine that there is a very highly honoured martial art academy. Out of many students one student has finally finished the training and passed the required test for black belt. On the day of the ceremony the student goes to the master to receive his black belt. The master before giving the black belt tells the student that there is one more test before you receive the prestigious black belt. He asks ‘What is the meaning of black belt?’ The student replies ‘It is the end of my journey. A reward for my hard work’. The master waits for more response. He is not satisfied with response. The master says ‘You are not ready for black belt,come back a year later.’

A year later the student comes and Master again asks the same question to which the student replies ‘It is a symbol of distinction and achievement’. The Master is still not satisfied with the answer and tells him to come again a year later. A year after the student comes again and master asks the same question. This time the student replies ‘The black belt represents beginning-the start of never ending journey of discipline,work,and pursuit of an ever-higher standard’.

The Master says ‘You are now ready to receive the black belt and begin your journey.’

I think there is lot to learn in this short and simple parable. We often think that once we finish this or receive something we are done with it. We think that finally something is finished and look for a sigh of relief. At the end it never works. There always something else to focus and worry about. Oftentimes the end is usually a beginning for something more.

To further broaden my view,what I am trying to say is that in being a beginner you always have a lot possibilities in your mind than those who have huge experience or are masters of a certain field. To remove myself from such positions I always tend to ask if things would work the most simple way and then go into more complexities.It works because mostly people are afraid that if it was that simple than other people would have tried it. But we may never know.I think there is nothing wrong in being wrong. This works much better if you fail fast and fail often. This gives you immense time to rectify and become better. The other thing to try is to ask a lot question,as those who are completely engrossed in a particular task are exhausted and often miss some obvious solution. So by asking questions if this may work or not may broaden one’s perspective and may help find some answers.

As Master Yoda from the fan favourite Star Wars movie says ‘Learn to unlearn.’ Plenty of wisdom in three simple words.

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