Becoming an Expert Beginner
We stop growing & creating when we find ourselves intimidated by “newness”. Discover key tools to conquer the resistance of new beginnings & become an expert beginner.
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“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”
As life moves forward, we are often met with new beginnings. New phases of life come as we attend school for the first time, graduate & move out of our home of origin, get married, have kids, move into a home, start a new job, & so on. We are invited to take on many roles throughout our experience on earth. Most often, those invitations come with a measure of intimidation. But those who can meet that intimidation find growth, fulfillment, & continuous creation in their life, home & legacy.
So let’s become expert beginners. Here’s how you can meet newness with more hope, energy, & vision.
Why We Stop Growing
It has always fascinated me to think about how vastly different life can be for everyone. All due to our personal choices. As a kid, we are commonly well directed & guided to choose growth. We attend school regularly, sharpening our minds & challenging our intellect. We run & play, continually strengthening our bodies. As adults, we have taken the reigns for ourselves. If we haven’t practiced enough discipline to seek growth regularly on our own volition, we are often at the mercy of default mode (which in reality is deterioration mode).
What’s the ultimate cause of this default mode, causing us to settle? We stop growing because we stop becoming beginners. We see new challenges, roles, & opportunities as not worth the effort, or unaligned with our current character. This is all contrary to our divine limitless potential. Becoming an expert beginner ensures we are on a constant path of creation & growth — building legacy & home in the process.
The Value in Intimidation
Intimidation feels intense. It’s easy to assume, because of that intensity, that it couldn’t be good for us. Luckily we have hindsight & mentorship to teach us that greeting that scary feeling may be the best thing we can choose to do. Intimidation is one of two forms of resistance. The other form would be temptation. Intimidation is the resistance we meet on our way up. Temptation is the resistance we meet in the fall down. Knowing that we are meeting intimidation already helps our minds to visualize that we are moving in the direction of our ultimate vision. This is so exciting! It truly means we are creating our dream life, fulfilling our vision boards! We have to keep this in mind as we face any new beginning in our journeys through life. And while the scary feeling may not dissipate totally, it can coexist with the excitement that will move us forward & upward.
Key Mindset Shifts
How do we conquer the great challenge of meeting intimidation? This intimidation feels like doubt, anxiety & insecurity, sometimes at a deeply intensive level. What is the divine truth to help us combat these hard feelings? Being an expert beginner isn’t knowing everything, it’s becoming the person who embraces newness. We feel the doubt because we think we don’t know enough, and maybe we don’t yet. We feel the anxiety because the imposter syndrome kicks in, and maybe it’s valid right now. We feel the insecurity because we’re navigating through new territory, and there’s a chance nobody gave you the map. And yet, that’s what beginnings are meant to be — a call to adventure!
One of the great barriers to taking on new adventures is the fear of failure. This fear is rooted in perfectionism, the great killer of momentum. Soaring to new heights never is a linear progression. Rather, we gain greater altitude as we meet the barriers of progression with pace & grace.
Regular Practices of Expert Beginners
The more we introduce beginnings into our lives, the more expert we become at beginning. A few ideas for how to accomplish this:
Say yes to new things. I know, it sounds so dumb. But I truly admire those who promptly commit to trying something new. It’s something I’m admittedly not very good at. It’s much easier to “stay in our lane” or “comfort zone”. The truth is though, the people who are really good at saying yes to new things, are the ones whose minds are strictly focused on the “Why not me?”. I deeply admire that trait & practicing saying yes is how we can solidify that characteristic in ourselves.
Breaking the day into blocks. Something I’ve done for productivity’s sake is attempted to block schedule my life. This looks like a morning block of personal spiritual & physical health, a block of care specific to my kids & home, a block of creativity for work & play, & blocks of connection for my family & calm to wind down. While it is certainly not strictly scheduled, these blocks allow me new beginnings every few hours. As I practice these blocks I renew my mindset at each new block, reminding myself of my capability & desire for growth.
Embrace new seasons. Life has many new seasons to throw at us. Whether that is the literal change of the four seasons, or the many moments of adopting new roles into our life. When it comes to the four seasons we have opportunities to adjust for holidays, weather, atmosphere changes, new recipes, & adjustments to our schedules. Rather than feeling overwhelmed, we need to remind ourselves of our call to adventure! The same goes for adopting new roles. New babies, new jobs, new homes, new relationships, etc. all offer us the same call to adventure. While there is no need to invite so much change it becomes overwhelming, we should seek the 1% changes that will carry the adventure forward, and build what we really want in the long run.
The Great Pay Off of Becoming an Expert Beginner
Over time, as you seek the 1% changes that allow you to accept the call to adventure, you become someone who isn’t afraid of beginnings. You won’t be afraid because you practice meeting newness every day. You will literally soar to new heights. That is what will make you an expert beginner. This skill will make every day exciting, and every new opportunity a little easier to consider. You will put aside the intimidating part of it and envision the person you become if you say yes instead. This is a key trait of the women who build strong legacies & beautiful homes.
Where to Start:
The first step in seeking new beginnings every day is by building the vision they will propel you toward. Until you know what growth you’re specifically seeking, you won’t know what to say yes to or what rhythms to introduce into your life that will help you reach that vision. To guide you in accomplishing this and get you started on one place to start you can use our FREE vision kit here!
If you’re looking for an even more comprehensive approach to becoming an expert beginner, I invite you to join me in our Foundation First course! Inside you will find a much deeper look at the mindset shifts & practical applications that will help you to build the life & home of your dreams. All of this in an effort to create more peace, purpose & play for you & your family.
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We stop growing & creating when we find ourselves intimidated by “newness”. Discover key tools to conquer the resistance of new beginnings & become an expert beginner.