Life is a lot like the process of having an eye exam. You sit in a dark room and the eye doctor puts a lot of different lenses in front of your eyes. What you see on the wall chart in front of you depends on the kind of lens you’re looking through.

This is especially true for creatives of all types, including writers. What you see out there in the world, and even more so within yourself, depends on the lens you’re looking through.

Another word for this “lens” is “perspective.” Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to share a few perspectives on your writing, your career, and your creative life. You might call these “contrarian” perspectives because they go against the conventional wisdom we’ve all heard.

I hope these will help you stay healthy and productive in your writing life. Let’s dive into today’s perspective.

One of the downsides of social media is that everyone can see what we do. Oftentimes, there is immediate judgment when someone goofs up or makes a mistake. Therefore, we’re all hyper-aware of doing something to make ourselves look foolish. We avoid risk and place a premium on appearances.

We have to move past this impulse and instead keep a beginner’s mindset. Life and technology are changing so fast there is no way to keep up with it. If you’re going to stay relevant, you have to be willing to experiment, learn, make mistakes, and grow.

I’m facing this now with doing short-form video on social media. I’m not very good at it, but I’m learning. I’m willing to practice in public and go for it with a beginner’s mindset.

How about you? What are you learning? Is it book marketing? Social media? Working on that first book? Getting started with public speaking or podcasting?

Whatever it is, just dive in and don’t worry about what everybody thinks. You’ll catch on quickly enough. In this ever-changing media and technological landscape, we’re honestly all beginners, all the time. But the prize will belong to those who are willing to adapt and change with the times.

Question: What are you learning right now? Do you have a beginner’s mindset in your writing and creative work?