“Beginner’s Mind” is an attitude of openness to new experiences enabling awareness and flexibility in the face of challenges. Since every person has a built-in balance between novelty (new experiences) vs security (stability/sameness), embracing “beginner’s mind” may be more of a challenge for some people (e.g. pilots).
The practice of shoshin [the Japanese Zen term that translates as ‘beginner’s mind’] acts as a counter to the hubris and closed-mindedness often associated with thinking of oneself as an expert.[2] This includes the Einstellung effect, where a person becomes so accustomed to a certain way of doing things that they do not consider or acknowledge new ideas or approaches.[3] …even feeling like an expert also breeds closed-mindedness.
The standard “pilot personality” favors the “fixed mindset” that prefers “sameness and security.” This makes sense since surprises in aviation are often emergencies. And a sense of mastery is an essential trait for confident piloting. However, the excessively “closed-minded cognitive style,” especially in the learning environment, is a serious obstacle to absorbing new information. This is why trust and honesty are so critical to the “learning zone!” To learn effectively, we have to turn down the ego defenses and hubris and embrace beginner’s mind.
However much we know — however full our cup — we must empty ourselves to receive more. We need to be ready and accepting of the new. This is Beginner’s Mind.
The strong ego position of “confident mastery” blocks new learning, and even alters the perception of novel experiences. “Predictive perception” (stereotyping what we expect to see) prevents us from detecting important environmental changes – a serious obstacle to an effective scan. 79% of accidents come from failures in “level one situational awareness” (perception). A “closed-minded cognitive style” causes a failure to perceive important safety threats. By definition, learning combines accurate perception with insight to build a mastery of new information and skills.
The Antidote to “Expert” and Over-Confidence!”
So how can we achieve a healthy balance of novelty vs security and foster effective learning? How do we detect changes and master new information more rapidly? The most effective tools are continuous curiosity and applying active questioning to our tasks. This keeps us vigilant and aware and encourages humility; we all can miss things and make mistakes. It is essential to turn down the confidence level and add some questioning to every action: “Is every switch and gauge where it should be?” “Were we really assigned that altitude (or did I just ‘expect the usual’ and mishear an instruction)?” One of “Mario’s Rules” is to always add a little doubt and fear when approaching a critical task containing high consequences.
Never assume you know it all, there is always more to learn and in fact, situations continually change so more study is essential… “Fat, dumb, and happy” is a sure recipe to turn shiny aluminum into beer cans.
If you think you have it locked, you are “cruising for a bruising!” Keep your eyes wide open and actively anticipate the “what ifs.” Fly safely out there (and often)!
Our SAFE CFI-PRO™ webinar series continues with the presentation of “Reflective Analysis” on May 19th at 8pm EDT. This is an important tool for building proficiency for every pilot (and CFI). Register here!
SAFE CFI-PRO™ provides the “Missing Manual” of master CFI techniques (what the FAA did not teach you) for flight instructors to accelerate their teaching performance from “good to great.” FAA Master WINGS credit is available for participation and the two YouTubes from previous webinars are available on the SAFE YouTube channel
