A Beginner's Mindset

It's been a long time since I've started from the beginning.

As a high school teacher, I draw on several years of college and one full year of teaching to write lesson plans and manage my classroom. I have the teaching skills and knowledge I need in order to do my job well. I am constantly tweaking and improving my work, but its very familiar to me. I know what I'm doing and I know what I need to do to improve.

I feel the same way when I'm teaching snowboarding. I cannot remember a time when I couldn't snowboard. I've improved drastically over the last few years, thanks to my AASI Level I Certification and my trip to Snowbird, but these new experiences have only built on a strong foundation. I even challenged myself by riding switch until I felt comfortable facing either direction.

Skiing falls into that category as well, despite only 3 years of experience. I was able to draw on both snowboarding and conversations with my mother, a ski instructor. I understood the physics and mechanics of skiing. There was crossover in my muscle memory.

This is not the case with kayaking.

Photo by Jesse Stratowski

I have a very shallow base of knowledge and experience. I feel comfortable in a touring kayak, maneuvering across the water. Jesse has been helping me refine my strokes, but I wouldn't say I'm a good kayaker. I paddle about as well as the next guy.

Rolling a kayak is a totally different animal. I don't understand it fully, and I don't have any muscle memory. This puts me firmly back into a beginner's mindset.

"Did you feel how... when you did..." Jesse asks me.

"No."

My mind cannot yet isolate my movements because none of this feels natural. Add to this the fact that I am upside down and holding my breath and you've got complete confusion.

I've successfully rolled my kayak a handful of times these past few weeks, but sometimes it feels more like luck and stubbornness than skill and ability.

I'm ok with that though.

I want to be better. I want to be skilled and comfortable flipping my boat right side up.

But I recognize that I am a beginner and I need to practice in order to improve. And because I want to be good, I am willing to devote the time, effort, and frustration that comes with being a beginner.

I have to start somewhere. I have to start.




When was the last time you were a beginner?