Important Quotes:
- "The goal of practice is always to keep your beginner’s mind. Our original mind includes everything within itself. It is always rich and sufficient with itself. You should not lose your self-sufficient state of mind. This does not mean a closed mind, but actually an empty mind and a ready mind. If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything." -Shunryu Suzuki
- “There is another way—a middle way, between too much and not enough confidence. This Goldilocks zone of confidence is where rational beliefs meet reality. It is fundamentally based on truth and good sense. It is built on beliefs that can be justified by evidence and honest self-examination. It steers between the perilous cliff of overconfidence and the quicksand of underconfidence. It is not always easy to find this narrow path; it takes honest self-reflection, level-headed analysis, and the courage to resist wishful thinking. This middle way is not the path to mediocrity—far from it. It is exceptionally rare to be well-calibrated in one’s confidence.[10] It requires that you understand yourself and what you are capable of achieving. It requires that you know your limitations and what opportunities are not worth pursuing. It requires that you act confidently based on what you know, even if it means taking a stand, making a bet, or speaking up for a viewpoint that is unpopular. But it also requires the willingness to consider the possibility that you are wrong, to listen to evidence, and to change your mind. This is a rare combination of courage and intellectual humility, which leads to actively open-minded thinking. It takes just the right amount of confidence.” -Don A. Moore
- “When you must write something to your friend, grammar will tell you what words you should write; but whether you should write or not, grammar will not tell you. And so it is with music as to musical sounds; but whether you should sing at the present time and play on the lute, or do neither, music will not tell you. What faculty then will tell you? That which contemplates both itself and all other things. The rational faculty; for this is the only faculty that we have received which examines itself, what it is, and what power it has, and what is the value of this gift and examines all other faculties” -Epictetus
Key Takeaways:
- Being intentional requires the use of the rational faculty.
- To point back to your own humanity and find inner peace requires intentionality and mindfulness
- Closing ourselves off to learning intends a sense of control.
- Even in areas we have achieved mastery in, we are all beginners in an unexplored context. Seek understanding through curiosity. Control will close our minds and stunt our development.
- It can be scary to examine your intentions for doing things, to let go of control, and be a beginner again. Have compassion for yourself, it’s okay to be scared and feel that way sometimes. Those who most realize their potential in any endeavor are those who always maintain a beginner's mind.
References:
- Overconfidence The mother of all biases: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/perfectly-confident/201801/overconfidence
- Concentration: http://users.rider.edu/~suler/zenstory/concentrate.html
- The Zen Archer: https://www.margiesmessages.com/zenarcher.html