Kaizen Living

“When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur. When you improve conditioning a little each day, eventually you have a big improvement in conditioning. Not tomorrow, not the next day, but eventually a big gain is made. Don’t look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That’s the only way it happens – and when it happens, it lasts.”

John Wooden, one of the most successful coaches in the history of college basketball

In JOLT Challenge, we emphasise the strategy of S.U.C.C.E.E.D., stepping up constantly and consistently each and everyday. S.U.C.C.E.E.D. is based on the Japanese concept of Kaizen, a technique where success is reached through small, consistent steps. It’s easy to set ourselves up to fail when we strive for big goals but don’t set reasonable, small steps to reach those goals. If you wish to improve your health, instead of cutting out all junk food and spending three hours at the gym every day, it would be a lot easier to start gradually by investigating basic nutrition and upping your exercise by ten minutes each time. When you set smaller more realistic goals, it is much easier to succeed at them. Small steps to success give you the feeling of achievement and over time the big payoff you are looking for. The key to this thinking is patience and persistence. Nothing happens over night, especially the good things.

Tips to Implement S.U.C.C.E.E.D.

Ask small questions. Ask yourself questions like, “What is the first thing I can do to…?” or “How can I spend a few more minutes on…?”Asking small questions instead of big, daunting ones like, “How am I going to improve my health?” or “How am I ever going to get out of debt?” avoids the more than likely chance you’ll be paralysed by fear. Fear can put us into our “fight or flight” mode which shuts down our neocortex, the part of the brain responsible for rational, analytical thinking.

Keep it positive. When asking yourself small questions, or having thoughts about your goal, stay positively focused. In JOLT Challenge, we talk about your inner voice. If you tend to have a negative inner voice, one that might be prone to asking yourself questions like, “Why am I not eating healthier?” , then you need to keep yourself on track by asking positive questions like, “What is one thing I can do to live more heathily?”. Keep your thoughts positively focused as well by reframing negative thoughts like, “I am unhealthy” into ones like, “I have the chance to be healthier and can make the time to become more healthy.”

Reframe Fear. Often, we experience fear when facing a big goal. Taking small steps helps to prevent the fear we have about change. Avoiding this fearful mentality helps you succeed. Instead of being alerted by fear, we should accept it and reframe our mindset to see a “threatening challenge” as “an opportunity.” Turn fear into excitement.

Small Rewards. Set up small rewards for yourself as you make strides towards a goal. The anticipation of the reward can propel you forward to your goal. According to Dr. Robert Maurer, Ph.D., author of One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The kaizen way, the rewards should be appropriate to the goal, meaning that if you are trying to eat healthier, rewarding yourself with a piece of chocolate might be a bad idea. Dr. Maurer also states that rewards should be appropriate to the person and be free or inexpensive.

Make the time. Don’t “find the time” to take steps towards accomplishments, instead “make the time”. According to Parkinson’s Law, work expands to fill the time available for its completion. This means you will always find more things to fill up your time, leaving you saying “I never have any time to put towards that goal.”

Chunk it. JOLT Challenge talks about “chunking”as a tool.You can either “chunk up” or “chunk down”. “Chunking up” means moving from specific to general, whereas “chunking down” means moving from general to specific. Use “chunking down” to break a goal down into the small steps you’ll take when implementing S.U.C.C.E.E.D. By approaching a goal in smaller “chunks,” it’ll be easier to make the time to accomplish it.

Be consistent-ish. Everyone slips up and when this happens it is easy to beat yourself up and throw the towel in. Instead of feeling frustration and pity when you slip up on your path to a better future, just keep in mind the term “ish”. By “ish” we mean being “consistent-ish”. S.U.C.C.E.E.D. is about stepping up every day but everyone makes mistakes, so be forgiving of yourself, and as long as you are “consistent-ish” in your strides towards accomplishments, then you are doing well.

Mental Rehearsal. Imagine yourself achieving a goal by actually seeing, feeling, hearing and tasting it from your perspective as you accomplish what you want. Take just 30 seconds to a few minutes every day to do this. It will help you to develop the skills needed to accomplish your goals.

If you’re not growing, you’re dying! So use S.U.C.C.E.E.D. in your daily life to continuously grow.

Article by Jessica George (Mind Warriors)