I recently had a golf lesson. It was an hour long, but felt much longer than that. My instructor watched me swing my normal swing and watched me hit a few balls with my pitching wedge. After about two minutes, he then proceeded to change everything single thing about my swing – from a new grip to a new
stance, a new head position, a new arm position, and a new shoulder position. It felt completely and utterly uncomfortable. But I knew my golf game was suffering and as a result my frustration with the game was increasing. So I put aside my discomfort and ego telling me I really knew the best and most comfortable way to hit the ball. I set aside my internal questions of the form and sequences he recommended. I concentrated and tried as hard as I could to follow the myriad of instructions and specific movements he listed off to me. Left arm straight, keep the shoulder square, left-side follow through, keep the head down, don’t bend your wrists too much… and every once in a while… I hit the ball cleanly and almost perfectly - a magical shot. The kind of shot that feels so pure and the ball soars straight, high, and beautifully over the distance marker. My instructor and I pause for a minute, gazing after the ball in shared exaltation. This is the beauty of golf. I keep practicing and hoping to replicate the magical shot, the magical feeling, the shared experience of achieving what feels like a perfect mechanical execution. And I come close a few times, but keep struggling for the next hour to achieve the magical shot.
So it is with learning a new task. A beginner is faced with what feels like a wall of opposition, almost like the forces of nature have conspired and decided they do not want you to accomplish this task or attain this skill. Not without sacrifice. That could be time, effort, money, or even something more, something very valuable that needs to be given up to achieve the grace you are searching for. I find it is very often the sacrifice of the ego that needs to happen first. The correct mindset of humility, of beginner’s mind, that sets the tone for being open to feedback,
recommendations, and criticisms that allow one to learn and persevere through difficulties. This is not an easy task.
But this mindset does not just apply to learning. I have found it applies to teaching as well. As a clinical instructor at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, it is helpful to adopt this humble, open mindset to each encounter I have with medical students. Even if I have spoken the same instructions many times, it is always a new situation. Because of the open and humble mindset, I often learn something from the medical students as I teach them, in turn.
Openness and humility, with a beginner’s mind allow for the best learning. And teaching.
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