Most leaders prepare obsessively for failure — but almost never for the seductive drift that comes with prolonged difficulty. The Japanese Zen concept of 'shoshin' (beginner's mind), developed by Shunryu Suzuki, holds that expertise is actually a trap: the more we 'know' how to endure hardship, the more our responses become mechanical, and we stop truly seeing what's in front of us. Modern leadership researcher Adam Grant calls this same blind spot 'entrenchment' — the moment perseverance quietly becomes rigidity without our noticing. The practical move today: pick one challenge you've been 'pushing through' and ask not 'how do I keep going?' but 'what would a first-time observer notice about this situation that I've stopped seeing?'

Where in your current struggle have you confused the feeling of endurance with the act of actually paying attention?

Drawing from Zen Buddhism — Shunryu Suzuki