The boons of being a beginner
It's not so bad to suck sometimes
I stepped up to the line in my big, goofy shoes; I had just one goal: not to come last. My friend had just bowled three gutter balls in a row, so the competition wasn't exactly fierce, but I was still in the running for last place. I walked up, swung my arm back, and released my orb of urethane to the elements. The ball slid, diverted from my intended path momentarily, and managed to collide with 6 pins — not bad. My friends high-fived me as I took a seat, and the next person moseyed up to the foul line. What is it about bowling, roller skating, top golf, and other recreational activities that is so appealing? Despite most people’s pitiful level of skill at these pastimes, we pay money to suck at these activities together. Observing people’s joy despite sitting at the bottom of the bowling leaderboard has made me rethink how I feel about being a beginner; there might be more good to being unskilled than we think.
I always feel like I am at the beginning of my journey, especially concerning tasks I am objectively good at. From the outside, it can seem like people are making leaps and bounds of progress in their domain, but there is a paradoxical side to becoming skilled: you realize all that you don't know. When we start a new project, we are fools; we overestimate the ease with which we can pick up the drums or watercolor painting or start a business. Being faced with the underlying complexity of a new skill keeps you humble; the more you learn about a domain, the more you discover how distant mastery actually is. The state of being a novice necessitates humility; conversely, expertise can engender a sense of pride.
While gaining deep knowledge in a field is attractive, we often fail to appreciate the utility of starting out. Beginners can approach tasks with ignorance, free from the anxieties of a pro; being a novice allows you to see a domain in a way that a subject matter expert is blind to; lastly, there is a sense of community that comes from being bad at something; there will always be more white belts than senseis.
Expertise is rightly desirable, but don't miss out on the boons of being a beginner.