curiositythinkingwonder~5 min read
Plain language, shorter sentences, no jargon.
Beginner's Mind: Seeing the Familiar as Strange
Zen's shoshin and the art of fresh perception
Experts see what they expect. Beginners see what is actually there.
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ReflectionStart here: make a prediction before reading
Shunryu Suzuki wrote: 'In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few.' Expertise narrows perception even as it deepens it.
Familiarity creates invisible filters. We stop truly looking at things we think we know—a coffee mug, a familiar face, our own neighborhood—and replace vision with category.
In fast-changing industries, beginner's mind is not naivety—it is the competitive advantage of seeing what experts have learned to ignore.
Surface → Deeper19s until next level
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