How to Begin Well

From the pickle ball court to the workplace

It was a typical Tuesday evening, and the sun was slowly sinking below the horizon as I geared up for my first-ever game of pickleball! As someone who usually enjoys learning new things, I was filled with a healthy mix of excitement and trepidation.

The moment I stepped onto the court, I was met with a flurry of activity. The sound of the ball ping-ponging between paddles filled the air, accompanied by shouts of encouragement and laughter. I held my paddle, feeling its unfamiliar weight, and took a deep breath. "How hard can it be?" I thought to myself.

But as the game began, I quickly realized that learning pickleball wasn't as easy as I'd anticipated. The ball seemed to have a mind of its own, darting in unpredictable directions just as I thought I'd nailed a perfect shot. The rules were complex and my movements felt clumsy, uncoordinated. With every missed shot, I felt a growing frustration, and the thought of giving up began to cross my mind…

The feeling of being a beginner extends well beyond the pickleball court and into our professional lives.

Starting strong

Imagine you have just landed your dream job as a web developer, after years spent in a different career. As you begin, you might find yourself faced with a steep learning curve. The programming languages may be new to you, and the task of writing clean, efficient code could seem daunting. Perhaps you're dealing with unfamiliar frameworks and libraries, or struggling to understand the intricacies of responsive design and server-side architecture.

In addition to mastering technical skills, there are other challenges as well. You have to learn about the particular coding standards and workflows your new team follows, understand the product requirements, and figure out how to effectively collaborate and communicate within your team. All these elements can lead to a feeling of overwhelm, making the transition appear more difficult than it actually is. As your frustration sets in, those thoughts of giving up might also begin to cross your mind…

You aren’t at the start of your career? You too are a beginner.

How? Challenges can arise when switching roles within the same field. Let's say you're making a transition from backend to frontend development. Although it's within the same sphere of web development, it's still a whole new ball game.

As a backend developer, your primary focus was on server-side logic, maintaining databases, and ensuring high performance and responsiveness to requests from the front end. However, as you switch to front-end development, your focus shifts to the user interface and experience.

You might need to enhance your skills in areas like graphic design and user experience, which may not have been a significant part of your role as a backend developer.

The technologies, skill sets, and even the way of thinking can be quite different which can again, be quite frustrating if you haven’t done it much before and find yourself making a few mistakes.

What do you do when you’re a beginner again and feeling frustrated with thoughts of giving up and uncomfortable feelings of making mistake after mistake? Well, with any transition, it's important to approach these challenges with a willingness to be wrong, to learn how to learn, and a great deal of patience and self-compassion.

Whether it's stepping onto a pickleball court, starting a new job, or transitioning roles within your current field, the journey of a beginner can be a challenging one and it's these very challenges that facilitate our growth, expanding our skills and strengthening our resilience.

The Beginners Creed

Some of you might be asking, “Are you still playing pickleball or not?” After I came home that Tuesday, I pulled up a Slack my CEO, Kuty, sent me when I first started my career at Clevertech. The Slack message contained, “The Beginner’s Creed.” It’s a piece of work that reminds me of the journey of a beginner.

Here are a few things from the Beginner's Creed to remember when embarking on a new journey:

1. Embrace the Learning Curve: Every skill and every job has a learning curve. Accepting that you're not going to master it overnight is crucial. Understand that it's okay to stumble in the beginning and learn from each misstep.

2. Patience is Key: Progress takes time. Just like in pickleball, you won't always hit the perfect shot on your first attempt at a new task or role at work. It's essential to stay patient with yourself and the process.

3. Ask Questions: In your journey as a beginner, never hesitate to ask questions. There's no such thing as a 'silly question' when you're learning.

4. Find a Mentor: Just like having an experienced pickleball player to guide you, having a mentor at work can make the transition into a new role smoother. They can provide insights and guidance that can be invaluable.

5. Celebrate Small Victories: Each small success, whether it's finally hitting the ball correctly or completing a new task at work, is a step forward. Take the time to recognize and celebrate these moments.

6. Stay Open and Curious: Approach each new experience with a "beginner's mind." Stay curious and open to learning, even when things get tough.

Every expert was once a beginner. It's the initial struggle and how we respond to it that shapes our journey toward mastery. So, whether you're trying to master pickleball or acclimate to a new job, remember the journey of a beginner is not a straight path but a road full of twists and turns that eventually lead to growth.

And for the record, I decided not to quit that day and hauled myself back to the court because I know that being bad at something is the first step to mastery.

Making a career switch can be a challenge - we’ve got support, coaching and guidance for all our new hires.

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