You know the feeling when you embark on a new goal? You’re amped up. You know where you’re going and you know what you have to do to get there.
You’re also completely clueless because you have zero experience because you’re a beginner.
At some point in our lives, we’ve all been beginners. We were beginners when we learned how to drive a car. We were beginners when we first went to school. We were beginners when we took our first job.
While being a beginner brings a mix of excitement and fear, it also triggers a mindset of being open to change and willingness to listen to others who have already accomplished what we’re setting out to do. The beginner mindset is a powerful thing. Many high achievers admit to always starting their day like a beginner. They wake ready to absorb as much information as possible because today is a new day and there’s stuff out there that they have yet to learn.
Even when we’ve been in the same job for 10 or more years, we should always approach life as a beginner. The finish line is always somewhere off in the distance because once we reach our goal, there’s a new, bigger goal on the horizon.
If you feel like you need to re-capture the beginner mindset, here are a few questions you can ask yourself:
- What’s something I still want to master? This can be professional or personal. Maybe it’s a promotion. Maybe it’s running a half marathon. Look deep inside yourself and ask yourself what’s something you really have a burning passion to accomplish. Then, go after that thing.
- Who is someone who has achieved what I’m seeking? Identify that person. This person must be more motivated and a higher achiever than you. This means that they are further along in their journey and have gone through experiences that you can replicate and learn from.
- How can I be better than who I was yesterday? There is always room for improvement. If you made 15 sales calls yesterday, aim for 16 today. If you ran a 9-minute mile last week, shoot for 8:45 this week. Always be looking for ways to improve yourself and you’ll always be a beginner.