A “White Belt” Mind.
The other day I was officiating our advanced belts at their belt promotion and noticed the passion wasn’t where I believed it should be. I explained to them that the White Belts in the earlier group displayed much more passion than they have. I then explained that I completely understand why. As a White Belt/beginner, you have an abundance of enthusiasm and passion because it is something exciting and new. As a Black Belt, you’ve been doing the same basic technique for many years so the excitement of doing basic motions have wavered. I then urged everyone to focus on having the technical skills of a Black Belt with the enthusiasm of a White Belt. The talk worked! The group performed wonderfully full of energy and passion and was very happy with their performance.
This leads me to thinking about the importance of having a “White Belt Mind” or “Beginner Mind” in anything we do in life. Could you imagine what it would be like to see your significant other as if it was the first date? Or reflect on the energy you had at the start of your career or business? The fact is, the excitement in the beginning of anything could and should carry through everyday as long as you keep a “White Belt Mind”.
