The Power of Staying a Beginner

We were fresh out of design school once upon a time. As soon as we were out, freshly minted, we sprinted from the status as far away as humanly possible– charging through time and space, putting in the hours, collecting experience, filling up the CV and climbing the proverbial ladder, assuming the rungs kept going one way or another. And that was until the last two years, when suddenly, we were faced with giant slithery snakes thrown at those ladders– surviving, burning out, reevaluating…boy, has it been a ride.

Standing at the start of a new path is powerful. It makes no promises and it is very likely going to be messy, but it is powerful. And returning to stand there again and again and again is even more powerful. There’s no greater teacher than the curiosity-filled, optimism-pumped state of being a beginner to humble even the greatest expert, while holding the hand of the most insecure learner.

Sarmishta will share how she stumbled upon unexpected inspiration for seeing the process of starting fresh as a continuum, how we might lean on it to navigate work in times of great change – and reshape our approach to work.