One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way

by Robert Maurer

“Small things with great love. . . . It is not how much we do, but how much love we put into the doing. And it is not how much we give, but how much love we put into the giving. To God there is nothing small.” —Mother Teresa

True

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Kaizen has two definitions: using very small steps to improve a habit, a process, or product using very small moments to inspire new products and inventions

Cool

As John Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach, expressed it, “You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?” —Martin Luther King Jr.

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.” —Mother Teresa

As Colleen Barrett, a former Southwest CEO, says, “We’re in the customer-service business; we happen to offer air transportation. We consider our employees to be our number one customer, our passengers our second, and our shareholders our third.” Kaizen demands that every small change be to the benefit of the customer.

And all it requires is that you place one foot in front of the other.

Lol true

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with the first step.” —Lao Tzu

Thanks Lao

Dr. Deming instructed managers to involve every single employee in the improvement process.

“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

This is fuc*** true

In fact, a surprising number of my clients intuitively perceive what it took me years of observation to see: that low-key change helps the human mind circumnavigate the fear that blocks success and creativity.

“The steps were so small I couldn’t fail!”

So small

Kaizen is an effective, enjoyable way to achieve a specific goal, but it also extends a more profound challenge: to meet life’s constant demands for change by seeking out continual—but always small—improvement.

Kaizen

Just remember: While the steps may be small, what we’re reaching for is not.

True

But for now, all you need to do is take one small step.

Ok

All changes, even positive ones, are scary.

True

Attempts to reach goals through radical or revolutionary means often fail because they heighten fear. But the small steps of kaizen disarm the brain’s fear response, stimulating rational thought and creative play.

Humm

The reptilian brain wakes you up in the morning, sends you off to sleep at night, and reminds your heart to beat.

RReptilain brain

The third part of the brain is the cortex, which began to develop about one hundred million years ago. The cortex, which wraps around the rest of the brain, is responsible for the miracle of being human. Civilization, art, science, and music all reside there. It’s where our rational thoughts and creative impulses take place.

large goal ➞ fear ➞ access to cortex restricted ➞ failure small goal ➞ fear bypassed ➞ cortex engaged ➞ success

Equation

“All adventures, especially into new territory, are scary.”

Sally Ride

A drunk is on his hands and knees looking for his keys under a streetlight. A policeman approaches him and asks, “What are you doing?” The drunk replies in a slurred voice, “I’m looking for my keys.” The policeman further inquires, “Where did you drop them?” The drunk says, “Over there,” pointing to the end of the city block. The policeman scratches his head and says, “If you dropped the keys over there, why are you looking for them over here?” And the drunk replies, “Because the light is better over here.”

Hahaha

When life gets scary and difficult, we tend to look for solutions in places where it is easy or at least familiar to do so, and not in the dark, uncomfortable places where real solutions might lie.

True

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” —Mark Twain

In effect, fear can cause you unconsciously to sabotage your best intentions.

True

Small questions create a mental environment that welcomes unabashed creativity and playfulness. When you ask small questions of others, you channel that creative force toward team goals. By asking small questions of yourself, you lay the groundwork for a personalized program for change.

Ask them all time

“What shapes our lives are the questions we ask, refuse to ask, or never think to ask.” —Sam Keen

Allahou Akbar

The hippocampus’s main criterion for storage is repetition, so asking that question over and over gives the brain no choice but to pay attention and begin to create answers.

Ok

Your brain loves questions and won’t reject them . . . unless the question is so big it triggers fear.

True

By asking small, gentle questions, we keep the fight-or-flight response in the “off” position. Kaizen questions such as “What’s the smallest step I can take to be more efficient?” or “What can I do in five minutes a day to reduce my credit-card debt?” or “How could I find one source of information about adult education classes in my city?” allow us to bypass our fears. They allow the brain to focus on problem-solving and, eventually, action.

Action good

Shhh . . . Don’t Wake the Amygdala!

Shhhh

Even if you’re not an aspiring novelist, small questions can help calm the fears that squelch creativity in other realms of life.

Cool

Consider how the microwave was invented, for example. Perry Spencer didn’t sit around the house, drumming his fingers and pounding his forehead, thinking, “How, how, how can I invent a device that will revolutionize kitchens around the world?” Spencer, an engineer at Raytheon, was at work one day when he left a candy bar too close to some radar equipment. The snack melted, and he asked himself, “Why would radar have this effect on food?” This small question led to answers that led to other small questions whose answers eventually changed how you and I make dinner.

Very good

When you use a harsh or urgent tone with yourself, fear will clog the creative process. What’s one thing I wish to contribute to the world with my book, poem, song, or painting? Whom could I ask for help or inspiration? What is special about my creative process/talents/business team? What type of work would excite and fulfill me?

To ask every week

Fear, as we’ve seen, is frequently the reason people don’t get what they want.

Yep

Kaizen Tip If you tend to berate yourself with negative questions (Why am I so fat?), try asking: What is one thing I like about myself today? Ask this question daily, writing your answer down in a journal or on a sheet of paper you keep in a specially designated place.

Top

Is there one small improvement that the staff/customers/clients would like me to make?

Very important to ask

(To make sure this question is answered honestly, it’s important to reward honest feedback immediately and always practice discretion.)

Ok

What is one thing your husband does that makes you happy?

Cool for Maama

What kind of job could bring me pride and pleasure?

Important

But if you are trying to achieve a difficult or frightening goal, a small question may be just one step toward change. The rest of this book will suggest many more strategies—safe and nonthreatening—for realizing your dreams.

Hum

Try to pose the question to yourself regularly, perhaps every morning over coffee, every time you hop into your car, or every night before bed. Consider writing your question on a Post-it note and then sticking it onto your nightstand (or dashboard, or coffeepot).

Small questions

The question’s whimsical quality makes it safe for the brain to answer truthfully, and it can produce some surprising answers that lend clarity to your goals.

If you are trying to reach a specific goal, ask yourself every day: What is one small step I could take toward reaching my goal? Whether you ask your question aloud or in the privacy of your own thoughts, please take a kind tone with yourself, the same you’d use for a beloved friend. Recall the experience of Patrick, the manufacturing manager who discovered that a hyper, exasperated approach did nothing to produce creative answers.

Patrick

What is one small step I could take to improve my health (or relationships, or career, or any other area)? This question is designed to remain open, to give the brain plenty of room for play. Be prepared for surprising answers!

Often we focus our attention on the people we think are most “important”—a key employee, the problem child, or our mate, leading us to ignore others who may have valuable insights for us. Try asking yourself: Is there a person at work or in my personal life whose voice and input I haven’t heard in a long time? What small question could I ask this person?

True

This question is for anyone who has a festering conflict with another person, whether a boss, employee, in-law, or neighbor, and is trying to get past this problem. Every day, ask yourself: What’s one good thing about this person? You may soon find yourself seeing the person’s strengths with the same clarity and in the same detail as you do their weaknesses.

True

If you tend to feel pessimistic or negative, try asking yourself this question: What is one small thing that is special about me (or my spouse, or my organization)? If you continue to ask yourself this question over time, you’ll program your brain to look for what’s good and right, and you may eventually decide to capitalize on these shining aspects, perhaps with a new marketing campaign at work or ideas for family activities at home.

Great

The easy technique of mind sculpture uses “small thoughts” to help you develop new social, mental, and even physical skills—just by imagining yourself performing them!

True