#34: The Beginner’s Mindset
Learning to see the world with fresh eyes
Hey friends,
Happy Monday! Thank you for joining me as we journey deeper into the massive expanse of the human experience that is creativity.
So far, we've covered:
Creativity as a tool: how we can expand our definition of creativity and use it to create better lives for ourselves
My vision for this Creating Lemonade series + how I believe we can all use the power of creativity to turn lemons into lemonade
Today's post is all about being a beginner; finding joy in the starting and the process - rather than the results - and seeing the beauty in the journey, not the destination.
As a wanderer, a creative, a business owner, and someone who is still very much figuring it all out as I go (as all of us are), I find myself needing to embody these steps every day.
Embracing the beginner’s mindset isn't a one-and-done box-ticked exercise, but a lifelong practice that can help transform frustration and stuckness into joy and opportunity.
If only we let it.
Whether you identify as a creative person or not, I believe we can all apply elements of the creative journey to our everyday lives - especially when it comes to being a beginner.
Giving myself permission to be a beginner and try new things - even though I might be bad at them - has resulted in some of the biggest transformations of my life. Even down to figuring out how to be a long-distance carer for my mum as she succumbed to the ravages of Alzheimer’s.
Now, that was something no one could teach. They still can't. Every day I'm still learning how to handle it and show up, especially now we've entered into the twilight stages. What a way to go. Wouldn't wish it on anyone.
However, I am grateful that I can take these experiences and share them with you. And if anyone else is going through some rough, unseen journey. I see you, too. I hope some of these words can be a comfort.
If I’m totally honest, one of the reasons I wanted to start this creative series is because creativity is the only thing that kept me going when times were really bad, and I wanted to write the things I wish I'd been able to read back then.
Which leads us back to today’s post!
I thought we'd dive into the beginner's mindset with some tips, tricks, and a bit of a perspective shift.
While this is mostly centred around the creative journey as an anchor, if this doesn't resonate, feel free to fill in the blanks with something that fits better for you.
It's your journey, after all. Just like it’s your life - and it's up to you to make it as wonderful as it can be.
One step at a time.
The Creative Journey
First, though, a disclaimer.
The creative journey is the best, most rewarding, and most challenging journey I have been on - and I've been on some pretty epic (and awful) journeys.
It isn’t easy. It isn’t perfect. It isn’t always spectacular prose or art that strikes you right to the core of your soul like a flaming arrow.
More often than not, it’s like wading through quicksand while trying to cross the Swamp of Infinite Sadness (RIP Atreyu) or dodging the flame bursts, Snow Sand, and Rodents of Unusual Size in the Fire Swamp.
You never quite know what’s going to trip you up next. But you keep going anyway, because you know it’s worth it.
A bit like life, really.
Or the creative process.
It’s fun until it isn't. And then finally, after climbing the Cliffs of Insanity, fighting a duel, and surviving a poisoning (with poison you've already trained yourself to become immune to), it's fun again.
Like The Neverending Story and The Princess Bride, it's a Hero’s Journey - even if we don’t always see ourselves - the creative - as the hero.
And, believe me, when you’re sitting at your desk like I am right now - messy hair, emotional support flannel shirt, coffee in a travel mug to keep it warm because you always forget about it - fighting off a big old flare-up of imposter syndrome, it definitely does not feel like a hero’s journey.
And you most certainly do not feel like a hero.
If anything, I feel like a fraud.
But in a way, that’s just as important a part of the journey as every other part, too.
I’ve been a professional writer for more than a decade, but here I am, starting something new and feeling like I’m right back at square one.
The truth is, though, most of us are in a constant battle of toeing the fine line between having it figured out and having no idea WTF we’re doing and hoping no one else figures that out.
Society has put so much emphasis on the end result being perfect that we've almost started to believe it's possible to skip through all the stages of learning and growth and evolution first.
We’ve become so focused on fast-forwarding through the discomfort that we've not only lost the ability to be a beginner but also to acknowledge it as a crucial step, whether in life or on the creative journey.
But, we can’t create lemonade without first learning to squeeze a lemon.
Embracing the beginner’s mindset
No one was born perfect. No one was born ready. We’re not all mavericks. Most of us have had to work hard to get where we’ve got - it’s just that you don’t see the real behind-the-scenes stuff.
We all have to mumble before we can talk.
Crawl before we can walk.
Walk before we can run.
When it comes to the creative journey, it’s no different. We all have to start somewhere.
Although Picasso was supposedly a bit of shitty person, especially when viewed through the modern-day lens, as an artist there's no denying his eclectic style and talent.
What most people may not know, though, is that his creative journey started with studying the old masters and developing a deep understanding of light, colour, and the human form. Without that early artistic education, who knows if he would’ve ended up going as far into surrealism as he did and creating what has become an instantly recognisable style.
We have to give ourselves time to get to know the basics before we can veer off the path and create our own style.
You can't rush it. But nor should you always stay safe, either.
Take this quote from David Bowie, a world-changing creative who made no secret of how he was figuring it all out as he went along.
“If you feel safe in the area you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth. And when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.”
I genuinely believe we are born creators; just like we are born with the skills to talk, walk, and run, but we have to practice until they become second nature.
When we’re young, creativity is all about play. It’s okay to be a beginner; to draw stick figures and paint outside the lines. But, as we get older, we lose that ability.
We feel like we need to take things more seriously. Like we need to be good at them - and if we’re not, what’s the point? Or, even worse, we might get in “trouble” for doing something wrong or not being good enough.
We often become so risk-averse that we never take action on our dreams - especially our creative ones. It’s easier for them to fall to the back of the priority pile than it is to find the courage to face them.
The creative calling
In the Hero’s Journey, the first step is the Call to Adventure.
Like Frodo, being brave enough to accept his mission to return the ring to the fires of Mordor, our creative journey also starts with a big brave step. But less dragons (probably).
In our case, it’s the creative calling. Although it could be the life calling, too.
It usually starts with a little spark that grows stronger and stronger. A desire to do something different. An unquenchable curiosity.
A dream.
But in order for us to make that dream a reality, we have to first take a leap of faith. We have to find the courage to take action on our dream, and move past the feelings of discomfort and resistance that might come up and talk us out of it.
We have to be willing to embrace the beginner’s mindset and risk “failure” - even if that perceived failure is as simple as not meeting our own impossibly high standards.
It isn’t easy to be a beginner. It takes courage. A willingness to jump out of our comfort zone. To start. To try. To be imperfect. To put ourselves out there and give it a go. To claim the label and give ourselves permission to be a beginner.
Just like me, starting my own creative business journey 11 years ago. Starting this Substack, nearly eight months ago. Or starting - and sharing - this, here today.
Being okay with being a beginner
This week, no matter where you are on your creative journey, I encourage you to have a think about being a beginner and embracing that beginner’s mindset, and what it might look like for you.
Would it be trying something new? Finding a novel approach to a problem? Or even just being willing to try doing something differently from how you’ve done it before?
To help you on the journey, I’d like to leave you with these immortal (and much-quoted) words:
“There is freedom waiting for you,
On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask "What if I fall?"
Oh but my darling,
What if you fly?”
Erin Hanson
Contemplation Questions
1 - If you knew that you could never fail, what might you do differently (creatively or in life)?
2 - Is knowing that you might fail enough for you to risk that never happening?
3 - If you look back at your life, what are the most memorable risks you’ve ever taken? How did they change your life for the better?
4 - Is there one thing you could do this week to take action on something you’ve been putting off because you’re too scared of being a beginner? Or, is there something that you can do to mitigate the risk and make it feel easier to take that first leap of faith?
Feel free to share any responses or thoughts in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!
Thanks for being here.
Yours on the journey,
Cx
PS: I offer all my Substack subscribers 25% off my one-off creative mentoring calls - yes, even free subscribers!
If you’d like to explore these questions or any others about the creative journey over an hour-long chat with me, please reach out or visit my creative mentoring page on my website for further information and testimonials.
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I love the link between the call to adventure and the creative calling. I hadn’t thought about it in this way but you are exactly right. Also it’s brilliant that you have started this Xx