How a ‘Beginners’ Mindset’ Can Help You Learn Anything

Credit: Surf Simply

Tom Vanderbilt’s fascination with the process of life-long learning began with his daughter’s hobbies: piano, soccer, Tae Kwon Do. At no point did he hope to fully master the abilities or to show off his prowess with an extraordinary feat, such as winning American Idol. 

“As adults, we instantly put pressure on ourselves with goals,” he says. “We feel like we don’t have the luxury to engage in learning for learning’s sake.” Instead, he wanted to revel in the pleasure of the process. 

Vanderbilt details his journey in his January 2021 book Beginners, which combines his own personal revelations with the cutting-edge science of skill acquisition. As she exercised her mind, he would answer emails, play with his phone or stare into space until his daughter had finished. 

He soon recognised the hypocrisy of the situation. “I was impressing upon her the importance of having a broad education in all these different skills,” he says. “But she might have easily asked me, ‘Well, why don’t you do all these things then?’”  

Starting with chess lessons, he decided to spend a year pursuing a range of new skills himself. Read more about it here.