One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way

by Robert Maurer

But big cash prizes in the corporate world can send the message that an employee is a cog in the machine who must be whipped into a frenzy by the possibility of personal gain.

Large rewards can become the goal in and of themselves, usurping an employee’s natural desire to find stimulation and creativity in the work alone. Moreover, once the large reward is in hand, a person’s motivation to continue the new and desirable behavior tends to fade or disappear.

But small rewards encourage internal motivation because they are really a form of recogn...

“Atta boy, Jack!” he’d say. This compliment, short but sincere, was his reward. Then he’d say to himself: If I can just walk down the street to the gym, I’ll enjoy a chat with the staff there. Once on the treadmill, Jack started by walking for just two minutes, rewarding himself with praise and encouragement. Minute by minute, and small reward by small reward, Jack slowly worked himself into physical fitness. By the time I met him, he was in his seventies and had won the Mr. World bodybuilding contest for his age division!

One client of mine lists the chores she does not want to do; if she completes these chores, she rewards herself at the end of the day by getting in the hot tub for ten minutes.

Finding an appropriate reward for another person can be challenging, so you might want to try this technique: If the person in question is a friend or partner, ask, “How do you know you are loved?”

I’m talking about moments that may seem ordinary or even tiresome, but actually hold the seeds of important change.

I asked him to find one moment each day when he enjoyed his police work.

When you’re implementing a plan for change but find yourself bored, restless, and stuck, look around for hidden moments of delight.

People who are most successful at improving their health habits are those who can transform exercise or eating well into a source of excitement and pride.

an optimistic belief in our potential for continuous improvement.

Instead of aggressively forcing yourself into a boot-camp mentality about change, give your mind permission to make the leaps on its own schedule, in its own time.

What more important task does this life hold than to draw out the possibility in each moment?