The Surprising Benefits of Being a Beginner

I pull into the parking lot of Life Fitness for the first time and grab my gym bag. Inside are my swim trunks, a towel, and a pair of goggles—still sealed in the packaging from when I bought them a few years ago. I glance at the paddleboard in the back seat and decide to leave it. I don’t want people seeing me use a paddleboard.

I’m 32 years old and teaching myself how to swim. I can survive in water, sure—but swimming is another matter entirely. My attempts look less like swimming and more like fighting the water. But with a competition coming up that requires swimming, it's time to learn.

I chose this gym strategically—my sister told me no one ever uses the pool. I change into my trunks, head in, and smile when I see I’m alone. I pull up a YouTube video of an instructor and do my best to mimic his strokes. A few minutes go by when, to my dismay, two swim instructors walk in, followed by a gaggle of children.

I immediately head for my towel, but they stop me:

“We can share the pool! We won’t get in your way.”

I smile nervously. Not only will I have to share the pool with kids, but now these experts are going to see how terrible I am.

To their credit, the instructors focused mostly on the children. But every now and then, I caught them glancing my way—wincing at my form and clearly holding back from offering unsolicited advice.

I wrap up my first self-led lesson and head straight to the swim school schedule, determined to avoid crossing paths with the instructors again. Unfortunately, their lessons always overlapped with the only time I could swim. I had a choice: give up my effort to learn or embrace the awkward, uncomfortable reality of being a beginner.

Studies show nearly two-thirds of adults avoid being a "beginner" in any aspect of life. We tell ourselves that if something wasn’t required earlier in life, we probably didn’t need to learn it at all.

For me, the fear came from appearing incompetent. The idea that someone might see me as unskilled felt like a hurdle I wasn’t willing to jump—especially not in front of experts. For others, it might be the belief that they’re too old, or that it’s too late to start something new.

But avoiding beginnerhood comes at a cost. Whether it's learning a new skill, experiencing a new culture, or simply feeling something novel, we miss out on some of the best parts of life when we cling to being the expert.

On my fourth trip to the pool, one of the instructors paddled over and asked if I’d like a few pointers. With little to lose, I said yes. She got out, walked to the kids' toy bin, and pulled out a small paddleboard. She tossed it in the water and said, “This is for beginners—but I promise it’ll help.”

I may not be an expert swimmer yet, but I’m no longer a beginner either. And if we want to grow, the first step is simple:

We have to begin.

Fact

According to Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, people who embrace a beginner’s mindset and persist through early failure are more likely to achieve long-term success than those who rely solely on talent or past experience.

Action

Pick one thing you've been curious about but hesitant to start. Sign up for a class, try a tutorial, or simply begin—with no pressure to be good, just brave.

Question

What would you try if you gave yourself full permission to be bad at it—at least at first?

Quote

“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” - Zig Ziglar