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Abstract

epression-era American business management theorists. These theorists wanted to tell the American businesses that making big and radical changes in their processes might not bring in the desired results and hence they exhorted them to make small but continuous improvements.After America and its allies had defeated Japan and Germany, they opened the idea of small improvements to the Japanese factories.The Japanese took to this idea right away and gave it a name: Kaizen — Japanese for continuous improvement.Though the idea of Kaizen was originally framed to help businesses, our personal lives can draw ample inspiration from this concept too.Each day, just focus on getting 1% better in whatever it is you’re trying to improve.“Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.” — Stephen Covey<h2 id="8148">Why Kaizen works</h2>“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 Wooden1% improvement is not daunting and that’s exactly the secret sauce. The compounding effect of this 1% is unimaginable.“Whoever wants to reach a distant goal must take small steps.” — Helmut SchmidtThe idea of self-improvement always seems like a big scary roller coaster ride. It looks scary, feels like too many hiccups on the way and bumpy till the end. Kaizen breaks this journey into small and manageable pieces. Becoming 1% better every day is a simple, practical way to achieve big goals. 1% seems like a small amount. Yes, it is. But the impact on your results is huge!How to achieve your goals using Kaizen?Running. That’s the best example I can sight to demonstrate the importance of breaking down bigger goals into smaller and manageable pieces.Did I s

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et up myself for a full marathon from day 1? No.When I first went on to the road, the distance I ran was 400 meters. The confidence kept on improving with each addition of a small distance to my legs. Kaizen was not introduced to me at that time but I was adamant to make small improvements each day to my running skills. Soon few meters became one kilometer and few kilometers got converted into participation in races. 5K, 10K, 21K, 42K, 100K all these are a natural progression to your running journey but each kilometer is made up of small efforts, small steps, small improvements, and small courage.It’s very easy to adopt this methodology in your self-improvement journey too.<h2 id="7c25">Next step</h2>Ask yourself this question every single day: What’s one small thing I can start doing that would improve my life?If you want to read 20 pages a day: Start with reading just one page each day on week 1, move to two pages a day on week two, then three pages a day on week 3 and so on.If you want to exercise three times a week: Go for a run once a week on week 1, twice a week on week 3, three times a week on week 8 and so on. Keep your distance small and efforts easy. Let the habit fall into place.If you want to start meditating 15 minutes daily: Begin with a minute of breathing exercises. That’s it. Just close your eyes and enjoy the breathing rhythm.Try to do just 1% better than the day before. Start small and make your progress regularly. Avoid the temptation to get anxious, restless and start rushing forward and taking bigger leaps. Take it slow, steady, and consistent.Simply try to do a little bit better than you did the day before.Go Kaizen! Go for just a 1% improvement!Thanks for reading.If you liked this article, I would request you to kindly hit the 👏 button as many times as you can, so that more people like you can read it. Also, please share this article with your loved ones and let them make these tiny shifts and improvements in their lives. Soon these tiny improvements will snowball into a large and meaningful goal.</article></body>

You Just Need 1% Improvement. That’s It.

“Compounding is the greatest mathematical discovery of all time.” — Albert Einstein

Ask any mathematician or economist or a financial adviser and they will term the “compounding” effect as one of the biggest discoveries of our times. So why not use this compounding effect in our daily lives too?

According to Brett and Kate McKay of The Art of Manliness:

“Instead of trying to make radical changes in a short amount of time, just make small improvements every day that will gradually lead to the change you want. Each day, just focus on getting 1% better in whatever it is you’re trying to improve. That’s it. Just 1%.

It might not seem like much, but those 1% improvements start compounding on each other. In the beginning, your improvements will be so small as to seem practically nonexistent. But gradually and ever so slowly, you’ll start to notice the improvements in your life. It may take months or even years, but the improvements will come if you just focus on consistently upping your game by 1%.”

Kaizen

Kaizen was first developed by Depression-era American business management theorists. These theorists wanted to tell the American businesses that making big and radical changes in their processes might not bring in the desired results and hence they exhorted them to make small but continuous improvements.

After America and its allies had defeated Japan and Germany, they opened the idea of small improvements to the Japanese factories.

The Japanese took to this idea right away and gave it a name: Kaizen — Japanese for continuous improvement.

Though the idea of Kaizen was originally framed to help businesses, our personal lives can draw ample inspiration from this concept too.

Each day, just focus on getting 1% better in whatever it is you’re trying to improve.

“Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.” — Stephen Covey

Why Kaizen works

“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

1% improvement is not daunting and that’s exactly the secret sauce. The compounding effect of this 1% is unimaginable.

“Whoever wants to reach a distant goal must take small steps.” — Helmut Schmidt

The idea of self-improvement always seems like a big scary roller coaster ride. It looks scary, feels like too many hiccups on the way and bumpy till the end. Kaizen breaks this journey into small and manageable pieces. Becoming 1% better every day is a simple, practical way to achieve big goals. 1% seems like a small amount. Yes, it is. But the impact on your results is huge!

How to achieve your goals using Kaizen?

Running. That’s the best example I can sight to demonstrate the importance of breaking down bigger goals into smaller and manageable pieces.

Did I set up myself for a full marathon from day 1? No.

When I first went on to the road, the distance I ran was 400 meters. The confidence kept on improving with each addition of a small distance to my legs. Kaizen was not introduced to me at that time but I was adamant to make small improvements each day to my running skills. Soon few meters became one kilometer and few kilometers got converted into participation in races. 5K, 10K, 21K, 42K, 100K all these are a natural progression to your running journey but each kilometer is made up of small efforts, small steps, small improvements, and small courage.

It’s very easy to adopt this methodology in your self-improvement journey too.

Next step

Ask yourself this question every single day: What’s one small thing I can start doing that would improve my life?

If you want to read 20 pages a day: Start with reading just one page each day on week 1, move to two pages a day on week two, then three pages a day on week 3 and so on.

If you want to exercise three times a week: Go for a run once a week on week 1, twice a week on week 3, three times a week on week 8 and so on. Keep your distance small and efforts easy. Let the habit fall into place.

If you want to start meditating 15 minutes daily: Begin with a minute of breathing exercises. That’s it. Just close your eyes and enjoy the breathing rhythm.

Try to do just 1% better than the day before. Start small and make your progress regularly. Avoid the temptation to get anxious, restless and start rushing forward and taking bigger leaps. Take it slow, steady, and consistent.

Simply try to do a little bit better than you did the day before.

Go Kaizen! Go for just a 1% improvement!

Thanks for reading.

If you liked this article, I would request you to kindly hit the 👏 button as many times as you can, so that more people like you can read it. Also, please share this article with your loved ones and let them make these tiny shifts and improvements in their lives. Soon these tiny improvements will snowball into a large and meaningful goal.