Beginner’s luck isn’t actually luck, it’s simple probability.
And a paradox
And a paradox
Let’s say you are playing a game of throwing darts against your friend who practices daily.
And you lose.
Will you remember that you lost in some game that you played for the first time?
Unless that particular game comes up in the conversation, you won’t even give a second thought about it.
But if you had won in that first attempt. That event will be interesting to you and not only you will remember it but you will also continue throwing darts to see ‘how good you are’.
Similarly, let’s say you try 20 different things and win that one time.
Are you calculating that as 1 out of 20 or are you remembering that as one win and forgetting the other 19?
Beginner’s luck is a belief and beliefs do play a role in what we can do and cannot do.
A belief in yourself makes you do things that you didn’t think were possible in your wildest dreams.
So what made it possible for you to win in that one game, that you have never played before?
There’s a certain advantage that comes with being a beginner —
you are neutral towards the outcome.
failure is just a word to you, not something to fear.
curiosity or boredom is your driving force.
A beginner doesn’t has any experience or preconceived notions. They are less afraid of failure because the result doesn’t matter to them, that gives them the confidence of ‘what’s the harm in trying’.
Not having an expectation to win is liberating.
Paulo Coelho emphasised on beginner’s luck in his book ‘The Alchemist’, he said —
“every search begins with beginner’s luck.”
Winning that one game out of 20 surely narrows down the search. I guess this is what we mean when we say, ‘fuck around and figure out.’
Maybe beginner’s luck is nature’s way of telling you, ‘maybe this is your path, explore it further. This is what initial win tastes like, and there’s more of it.’
And if this is what beginner’s luck is, then it can be misguiding as well because it can also make us believe that we are better than we think we are. And this skewed perception can be a trap.
Especially if you get into gambling. That initial win’s high can make you keep coming back for more, setting a trap for you.
Ultimately beginner’s luck is a paradox, it’s like the first chapter in a book, urging you to keep reading or drop it altogether.
Signing off
— Akanksha (आकांक्षा)