Embracing the Beginner’s Mind: Overcoming Discomfort in the Pursuit of Mastery

Learning New Skills Can Be Uncomfortable, but the Rewards Are Worth It.

Photo by Estúdio Bloom on Unsplash

It’s always daunting to be a beginner, whether in a sport, a language, or a card game. Stepping out of your comfort zone to learn new things means facing the inevitable discomfort of not being an expert immediately. The game of pickleball provides a perfect illustration of this phenomenon.

Pickleball, a fast-growing sport with a 650% growth rate in the past six years, challenges newcomers with a variety of shots, from the soft dink to the powerful smash. For a beginner, attempting these shots among experienced players can be humbling, to say the least. It’s the same feeling you might experience when you first try to speak a foreign language or play bridge — an awkward sense of humiliation that threatens to bruise your ego.

In these situations, it’s easy to let discomfort deter you from pursuing a new skill. But if you can overcome that discomfort, the rewards are immense. Consider three examples of how embracing the beginner’s mind can lead to growth and mastery:

1. Pickleball: Even if you initially struggle with the shots and feel outmatched by experienced players, perseverance pays off. With each game, you learn from…