The Kaizen Method: A System To Achieve Results
The kaizen method is a strategy that became popular in the business world after World War II. Its success was so resounding that it is taught in all business schools today, as its use increases productivity significantly.
In addition, it has transcended the workplace and millions of individuals apply it in other facets of their lives. Thanks to the kaizen method , these people are able to achieve their goals much more effectively.
Why is it so hard for us to change
The human being is characterized by making changes throughout life, which is part of the life experience. These changes can be due to multiple factors, such as that we want to acquire new habits, eliminate them, consider new projects or close an old stage.
Despite this, people show very marked difficulties to change. And it is that our brain is designed in such a way that any challenge triggers a certain resistance and fear.
It is true that there are people who can transform that fear into enthusiasm, who grow and get excited in the face of challenges, but it is not a very widespread characteristic. The usual thing is that our mind sabotages the changes in the form of laziness, procrastination and multiple excuses.
What is the kaizen method ?
The kaizen is a method to change successfully, and it bases its strategy on making very small steps. It can be applied to achieve a specific purpose, but also to continuously improve in some aspect.
Its main motto is: “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a small step” . And that is the key to your success. The goals proposed by this system are so small that it is very difficult to fail.
Thus, what the kaizen method proposes is to start and that we barely perceive the effort. That way it will be much easier to overcome the resistance of our mind.
In what situations can we use the kaizen method ?
The kaizen can be applied in many circumstances. In fact, any situation that can be improved can benefit from this strategy. Let’s see some examples where it is possible to use this method:
- Tidy up the house: instead of focusing on the whole house and overwhelming ourselves, a good option will be to focus on a single drawer and organize it for five minutes.
- Stop eating ultra-processed products: this action can be very complicated, so we can stop eating only the last bite of food.
- Improve our sleep hygiene: the moment we decide to sleep better, we can go to bed a minute earlier than we usually do.
- Read more: if what is difficult for us is to incorporate this habit, we can do it by reading a paragraph every day.
- Practice more physical activity: to create this routine we can dress with all the necessary clothing and exercise for a single minute.
Making changes in this way is much easier, as we hardly feel pressure or fear of failure. On the contrary, since the level of demand is so low and we perceive it as almost ridiculous, the usual thing is that we relax and it is much easier for us to continue advancing.
Overcome resistance to change
Applying the kaizen method is an effective way to overcome the fear of failure. The main objective is to eliminate all the resistances, and for this, taking such small steps greatly facilitates the task. It is as if the mind understands that it is not necessary to activate the alarm and allows us to act more calmly.
When we set out to make a change, in many cases we focus on the final goal and not on the steps that are necessary to achieve it. It’s one of the reasons we fail so much. On the other hand, if we divide the goal into multiple parts and focus only on achieving something very specific, we facilitate the passage to the next step.
Making tiny changes is one of the best strategies to get away from laziness and will bring us closer to our goals in a much more realistic and effective way. Therefore, the next time you set yourself a goal and do not know where to start, remember that the kaizen method can be of great help.
