Beginner's Mind, Resilience and Anti-Fragility

If you felt that you were missing my newsletter over the last few weeks, you are not alone because I was missing it too ??

This has been the longest break I've taken on this newsletter since I started it in November 2021. I have mixed feelings about it but this break was needed and the below image can be a powerful explanation instead of me detailing it.

Having said that, I am back to this little space that I always loved to spend time in and hope to get back on track consistently like I used to.

I also took this break as an opportunity to reflect on my journey as a curator of this newsletter and as a "content creator" as they call us these days. More on that later. But if you have any suggestions for me, please send me a message.

A bit of context for many new subscribers here:

I started this newsletter as a way to document my weekly learnings and over many months it grew to more than 2200 subscribers.

I love the fact that many of you write to me and engage with what I share here. It really means a lot and I have always felt very grateful to each and every one of you, even if we don't interact frequently.

I chose this edition's topic as Beginner's Mind and there is a reason for that. I recently moved to a new country and it definitely feels like a new journey. But in a way, it is also not so new considering the number of cities I moved across in my career so far.

“In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.” — Shunryu Suzuki

When people refer to a beginner's mind, a lot has been said about it, highlighting the need to be curious and not carry the expert baggage when looking at any situation.

But the flavour I want to add is to use a beginner's mind especially when we are stuck and facing setbacks.

Hoping to not have setbacks or hurdles is naive. But aiming to get back on track despite all the bumps in the road is what sets anyone up for success. And a beginner's mind can act as a catalyst for our inherent resilience.

It is only when we tap into our beginner's mind we can think of many possibilities that an expert cannot think of. In fact, we don't stop at being resilient but access our anti-fragility in this process. The lack of experience is not a disadvantage but a strength instead.

I wish you all remind yourselves of all the amazing possibilities in your life by switching on to your beginner's mind.

“To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day.” ―?Lao Tzu

Check out all the previous editions of this newsletter here