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Kaizen is a philosophy that encourages people to make small, incremental changes to improve their lives. This book will help you learn how to use Kaizen to improve your habits and improve your life.
Kaizen is a noun in Japanese and is used to mean improvement. This is a philosophy that encourages constant improvement in all areas of life. It was first used by the US government in the 1950s to help businesses stay afloat during the Second World War, and has since been popularized around the world. Kaizen is based on the idea that each area of our lives – be it our work life, social life, or home life – can be improved by focusing on one task at a time and practicing until the desired results are achieved.
Kaizen is a method of improving efficiency that originated in Japan, but has been adopted by companies in the West. Kaizen is a good example of this dialogue because it incorporates Japanese values and attitudes towards incremental change. It is also a good example of the way that Japan retains its own sense of identity and social structures. Although there are many things in Japan that a naive westerner will recognize, it will take a foreigner a prolonged period of being immersed in Japanese culture, to fully appreciate the amount of social rules, and small daily courtesies that dominate the way that the Japanese interact with each other. The social structures are set up very distinctively and founded on rules that can sometimes seem alien to those outside of Japan.
The Kaizen approach to problem solving is a way to reduce stress and improve one's wellbeing. Kaizen can be applied to different aspects of one's life, such as work, parenting, and personal relationships. By making small changes to one's routine, Kaizen can have a big impact.
WHY DO WE HAVE HABITS?
People develop habits because it is easier and more efficient for them to do so. The brain likes to conserve energy, so it will use habits as a way to save mental resources. When we have a habit, it becomes easier for us to do something because our brain has already done the hard work of figuring out how to do it.
Change is hard, but it's something that everybody has to go through at some point in their lives. When change is triggered, it can be really scary for some people. The brain is programmed to resist change, so it can take a lot of effort and practice to change your habits. Change usually takes between 18 and 254 days to become automatic, but the important thing is to keep trying. If you're struggling with change, using Kaizen techniques can help you overcome your negativity bias and make change easier.
Kaizen practitioners break down their goal into small, manageable steps in order to make gradual progress towards it.
THE INVENTORY
The method starts by taking an inventory of your life as it is at this very moment. You will need to think about your habits and environment, and make a life plan of goals and challenges. This might sound daunting at first, but Kaizen encourages you to break it down into small steps.
For example, you might think about your health first. You might list your relationship with your body, your mental health, diet, exercise routine, and sleep patterns. You might also think about your work life and career, and how you get on with your colleagues. You might also think about your money and home. You might also think about new challenges you could set yourself.
The Kaizen method is a way to improve your life gradually, and it is a way to be gentle on yourself. It is important to remember that everyone will have different priorities, and that the method is not prescriptive or one-size-fits-all. You can populate your inventory with anything you like, but some ideas to consider might be health, working life, money, home, relationships, and new challenges.