How to use Kaizen’s small steps method to achieve your goals

“Eyes fear, but hands do”, “Fear has great eyes”, “You can’t get a fish out of a pond without work” – proverbs familiar to many people. Which for some reason do not motivate, but, on the contrary, drive us into a corner of dissatisfaction with ourselves and create a feeling that the existing problems and tasks can not be solved at all. And any: from the desire to switch to a healthy eating system to the need to dismantle the balcony and turn it not into a warehouse of “necessary things”, but into an area for recreation.

In the depths of the soul there are thoughts with various “protective” attitudes: “We didn’t live richly – so let’s not start”, “And how others live”, “There should be many good people” and so on. What to do with it?

Let’s look into Kaizen philosophy and examples of its application in practice.

Svetlana Burtseva

Finance expert, General Director of ASgroup LLC

The method is based on the fact that problems do not accumulate, but are solved with the help of continuous improvements. In this way a person stops missing what is planned and at the same time maintains psychological comfort.

What does this Japanese philosophy stand for?

The Kaizen method is based on the fact that problems do not accumulate, but are solved by continuous improvement. In this way a person stops missing what is planned and at the same time maintains psychological comfort.

There is no need to wait for Monday

Kaizen is a system that helps to move slowly, but do not stop. At the same time, it is necessary to start small. Just five minutes a day dedicated to Kaizen can make a difference. But it’s the regularity that counts.

In other words, there is no need to start a “new life from Monday”, waiting for “better times” to come. Everything is already there: both “Monday” and “times.” Start using the Deming Cycle – these are the repetitive steps in the Kaizen system.

Plan – execute the plan – study, think – improve, adjust.

Moving slowly but surely is far more effective than treading water or putting things off. But it’s important that new activities and rituals bring pleasure, resonate in the emotions, body and mind. There should be no sacrifice or doom. There is no need to take on everything. Human beings, contrary to a number of beliefs, are not designed to multitask.

New habits are natural

New rituals or habits that you introduce into your life should naturally become part of it. For example, you want to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Then let a contrast shower or morning exercise become as natural to you as brushing your teeth.

Can you spare five minutes a day to exercise? That’s probably about the length of your favorite track. Put it on and exercise. Your body will begin to get used to the new, will respond with gratitude, and you will increase your self-esteem. The main thing is to be consistent.

You do not need to give in to provocations from the series: “These five minutes of exercise will not give you anything”. So say only those people who themselves have long let the solution to their problems on their own and can only give out advice. And you are just standing at the beginning of the path of work on yourself, you must be firm and determined in your endeavor. Subsequently, you will make the morning exercise not five minutes, but ten minutes, add more exercises and increase the number of repetitions.

Create a pleasant atmosphere for yourself. Unclutter your desk, sit back, pour a cup of tea and go forward to knowledge. The process of gaining them can be comfortable and enjoyable.

Victories every day!

You will see that the state of celebration under the motto: “I did it” will become the norm of your life. And it will work for you, your self-esteem, your level of knowledge. It is important to realize that where there are no problems, improvement is impossible.

A problem is a potential for improvement. Be bold and don’t dwell on failure, don’t waste energy on it. Be consistent and firm in your decisions. Start with small goals to then hit the big one.