Mental Models Weekly

Share this post

Shoshin (Beginner's Mind) 🧘🏻

www.mmweekly.com

Shoshin (Beginner's Mind) 🧘🏻

Issue #18

Julia Clavien
Oct 27, 2018
2
Share this post

Shoshin (Beginner's Mind) 🧘🏻

www.mmweekly.com

This week’s mental model comes from Zen Buddhism. (Don’t worry - this newsletter is still agnostic, but that doesn’t mean we won’t shamelessly borrow useful mental models from religions!)

What is Shoshin?

The Japanese term shoshin means "beginner's mind" and can be further defined as follows:

Shoshin is an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even at an advanced level.

The shoshin mindset is characterized by openness - when we are in that mindset we are open and curious to possibility. We aren't limited by our pre-existing knowledge that we develop as we reach advanced levels. Expertise is of course a good thing for the most part, but the downside is that it can lead us to be more likely to be trapped by confirmation bias - where we only see information that supports our preconceptions. Trying to cultivate shoshin is a good antidote!

Buddhist teacher Shunryu Suzuki said:

"In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few."

Photo: Mikito Tateisi
Photo: Mikito Tateisi

Want to go deeper?

📖 Check out Shunryu Suzuki's original work - Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

I love hearing your reactions to the models! Just reply email 📧 or tweet me 🐦@juliaclavien.

Share this post

Shoshin (Beginner's Mind) 🧘🏻

www.mmweekly.com
Comments
TopNew

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 Julia Clavien
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing