The Power of Being the Beginner

The idea of being a beginner is essential to growth, both personally and professionally. Every coach, speaker and leader has been a beginner at some point. In fact, we’ll all return to that space many times throughout our lives as we continue to learn and evolve.
It can be challenging to allow that space for yourself, especially in the work world where you might feel pressure to be an expert. What we must remember is that everyone starts somewhere. We aren’t born knowing everything we need to know, our skills and knowledge develop over time.
This is also the case with confidence. It’s a continual practice and learning journey, not something we are born with. The first step is being honest with yourself before trying to prove anything to others.
Try starting with these reminders.

• Give yourself grace.
• I don’t know very much about this yet, and that’s okay.
• I want to learn, I’m ready to learn.
• I have everything I need to be able to begin.
• What can I be curious about?

Being the beginner also shows up in our conversations. Sometimes we anticipate information or rush to appear knowledgeable, worried about being “found out”. We might spend the conversation guarded and fearing that moment where something gets brought up that we aren’t familiar with, and we have to let someone else be the expert.
This has been a struggle for me, since I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself to do everything perfectly on the first try. Sometimes for those who really value learning, we can forget the beauty of being the beginner and jump right into a “false expert” state which can get in the way of genuine communications and connection.
To avoid the temptation to be the false expert try this:
Take a more curious approach, leading with a desire to know more instead of a desire to show how much you know. “Oh, wow I didn’t know that! I’d like to learn more, I wonder what this person can tell me.” Let your curiosity guide you. Allow yourself to feel confidence even when you are a beginner.
Everyone has been the beginner and will be the beginner again. The sooner we let go of perfection, the freer and more confident we become.
Written by, 
Danny Socwell (He/Him)
(763-328-9190)
Marketing Director
[email protected]

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