Beginner’s Mind: The Most Dangerous Thing in the Room

When you visit a new place, everything feels alive. The colors, the smells, the little things other people pass by without noticing. Your senses are wide open. You’re not comparing, just seeing. You notice the cracks in the sidewalk, the way people hold their coffee, the color of the sky at dusk. It all feels rich and new. But on your second or third visit, you start to gloss over those details. You think you know the place, so you stop noticing it. Your brain starts filters out the small details.

That’s exactly what happens in creative work. When you’re new to something, you see it like no one else does. But the more you know, the more your brain shortcuts and closes off possibilities. Beginner’s mind is choosing to stay in that place of noticing — even when you think you already know.