Previously, we've covered a lot of wonderful concepts like time blocking, habit stacking, and The Pareto Principle that can help boost our productivity and efficiency📈. Today, let's introduce a new concept🆕.
Have you ever been working on an assignment or tackling a project, when suddenly you hit a wall🧱? This can happen for a variety of reasons.
Sometimes getting started is the hardest part🏁. Other times we make impressive progress on the project, only to run out of gas halfway through🪫.
So what can we do to make it past this wall?🧗🏿
Shoshin might be the answer.
Shoshin is a Zen Buddhist concept that can be translated as "beginner's mind". Shoshin refers to having a mindset of openness and eagerness when approaching a task, without any preconceptions or worries😌. To better understand the idea of Shoshin, let's use an example.
Say you're a medical student studying the brachial plexus for an upcoming exam🩺. This is a traumatizing example for a lot of us but stay with me🤯! While reading about the brachial plexus in your textbook and trying to memorize the complex connections, you might find yourself thinking something like "I already know this" or "I cannot memorize this at all"😓.
Now apply the concept of Shoshin, and imagine you're learning the brachial plexus for the very first time🤔. What if you tried creating a song to memorize the connections🎶, or making a diorama on your desk using matches to visualize the overall structure🔥? By approaching a difficult concept like a beginner, you may unlock unique ideas or discover interesting connections that someone who isn't a beginner might not🔗.
I first discovered Shoshin while reading The Creative Act by Rick Rubin, and you can actually find all of my takeaways for the book right here📕.
Since learning about it, I've applied the concept of Shoshin frequently while working on Med School Moose🫎. While I am by no means an expert in writing articles or creating videos🎥, after doing these things for several years it can become difficult to have fresh ideas and innovate when you're so used to being in the weeds🌱.
Shoshin provides us with a sense of play and a fresh start, empowering us to dream up new solutions to tasks and overcome roadblocks to our efficiency🛣️.
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few" –Shunryu Suzuki
📚 My Favorite Books: Discover some of my other favorite books on productivity and self-improvement right here.
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