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

Quote

Self Improvement

Problem Solving

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

Kaizen, which means continuous improvement in Japanese was originally developed by Depression-Era management gurus in the US. The Japanese embraced the idea of improving and thriving in small steps, as opposed to working on a BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal).
The long, hard process looks difficult but is actually easy if we just focus on the small step that needs to be taken today, and do that consistently.

The Small Steps That Change Your Life

<ul>
<li>We are never done improving ourselves. We need to do certain things daily to achieve and maintain our success. The first steps are not easy, but taking small actions is progress, while not taking any action isn’t.</li>
<li>Kaizen is about the 1 percent improvement that we can focus on, and those daily 1 percent improvements compound over time. </li>
<li>Initially the improvements may not be noticeable, but in a span of months or years, the breakthrough improvements will start to be visible.</li>
</ul>

Self-Improvement: 1 Percent Daily

Setting a goal is easy, just like marking a date on the calendar. The real challenge is always the willingness to accept what we need to do daily to achieve those goals.
We need to design a system that has to be practiced daily, as the commitment to a process provides the compound effect. Example: Learning should not be limited to college, but should be a lifelong system imbibed in your pursuit of knowledge, enriching your life and making you a better person.

Systems Instead Of Goals

“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.”

When we improve a little on a daily basis, big things occur over time. We need to stop focusing on radical, sudden improvements, as quick-fixes aren’t lasting anyway. 
Consistent and sustainable gains are only achieved by small, incremental improvements on a daily basis.

Little Things Into Big Things

<header data-yaft-module="huffpost-entry-header" data-rapid-parsed="sec" dir="ltr">


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09/15/2017 09:43 am ET

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</header><figure><img src="https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/59bbd83e1c0000270079e9ca.jpg?ops=scalefit_820_noupscale" alt="" width="720" height="481"><figcaption dir="auto">PHOTO BY NIC LOW ON UNSPLASH</figcaption></figure>In a perfect world, by this time of the year, you would be halfway through your 2017 goals, right? Unfortunately, not many people can commit to a course of action to get what they want every year.The Kaizen philosophy can make it insanely easy to commit to that goal. You should aim to continually make progress.Instead of aiming for huge, drastic changes, what if you aimed to find small changes or actions you can make starting today. Small, continuous actions are the foundation of habits that stick. Einstein once said, “Compounding is the greatest mathematical discovery of all time.”<h2>Stop aiming for a radical personal&nbsp;change!</h2>A magic bullet cannot save you! You’ve got to embrace the process and enjoyit. You can’t escape the hard work it takes to get better. Every incredibly successful person you know today has been through the boring, mundane, time-tested process that eventually brings success. So, stop looking for “quick hacks” that bring faster results.In his book, “<a rel="nofollow" href="http://amzn.to/2fodofP" data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:6;elm:context_link;itc:0" data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="2" data-v9y="0" dir="ltr">One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way</a>” Robert Maurer writes, “Once you’ve experienced the joy of taking the first step, you can decide whether it’s appropriate to take another. You’ll know you’re ready when your current step becomes automatic, effortless, and even pleasurable. Instead of reading every self-improvement post for the one golden tip that will make you superhumanly efficient, focus on doing the actual work that needs to be done. You can inspire yourself to take action. The hard, long process is the only way though. You can’t achieve tremendous life success with a quick fix. Nobody gets it that easy. <h2>Your big, audacious goals are not inspiring you!</h2>“Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.” says Stephen CoveyYour attempt to be better usually ends in failure because you life-changing goals overwhelm you into inaction instead of inspiring you into action.Unrealistic goals make it insanely difficult to make any progress. You will get “stressed” over what is supposed to help you take action.Helmut Schmidt encourages us to take baby steps towards a bigger goal. He once said, “Whoever wants to reach a distant goal must take small steps.”Your performance and ability to get things done is inextricably bound to brain performance. A big, audacious goal looks scary to your brain. And when your brain encounters scary, it goes into “freeze” mode. You don’t want that. If you constantly overstretch yourself, you will lose the required energy you need to take the necessary action to get better.Setting a goal, no matter how simple is always the easy part. Everyone has goals. The real challenge is not determining if you want the result, but if you are willing to accept the sacrifices required to achieve your goals.If you want to achieve your goals at all times, create a system that works.Instead of a goal, design a great system or process. That way, you will always win. Even when your short-term goals are achieved, your next goal won’t be a struggle. Having a system is what matters. Committing to the process makes a huge difference.<div>Subscribe to The Morning Email.</div><div>Wake up to the day's most important news.</div><h2>Self-improvement is not a destination!</h2>“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily,” says Mike MurdockLearning should not end after formal education. Lifelong learning, the ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated pursuit of knowledge can enrich your life and make you a better person every day.Self-improvement isn’t a destination. You’re never done. Even if you have some success, and you want to maintain it, you have to keep doing the things you were doing that got you that success in the first place.Your first step to improving your life and becoming the best version of your self won’t be easy. Nobody can promise you that things will be easy but they will get better. It pays to take a small action–any action–and grow from there.Remember, you are better off trying and crawling than anyone else who isn’t trying.<h2>The Kaizen Approach and how it&nbsp;works</h2>“Little strokes fell great oaks.” — Benjamin FranklinKaizen — Japanese for continuous improvement.It was developed by Depression-era American business management theorists in order to build the arsenal of democracy that helped the U.S. win World War II. The Japanese took to the idea of small, continual improvement right away and gave it a name: Kaizen — Japanese for continuous improvement.While Kaizen was originally developed to help businesses improve and thrive, it’s just as applicable to our personal lives.The idea here is to focus on consistent improvements in your life, every day, no matter how small the step you take to be a better you than you were yesterday.Kaizen is an amazing practice that yields extraordinary results with virtually no effort at all!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%.”<h2>Here is why Kaizen&nbsp;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 WoodenThe Kaizen approach is a reminder that all improvements must be maintained if we wish to secure consistent gains. Think of the smallest step you can take every day that would move you incrementally towards your goal.Becoming 1% better everyday is a simple, practical way to achieve big goals.1% seems like a small amount. Yes, it is. It’s tiny. It’s easy. It’s doable. And it’s applicable to most things you want to do or accomplish.It feels less intimidating and is more manageable. It might feel less exciting than chasing a huge win, but its results will be stronger and more sustainable.Before you&nbsp;go…If you enjoyed this post, you will love <a rel="nofollow" href="https://postanly.ongoodbits.com/" data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:36;elm:context_link;itc:0" data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="8" data-v9y="0" dir="ltr">Postanly Weekly</a> (my free digest of the best productivity and self-improvement posts). <a rel="nofollow" href="https://postanly.ongoodbits.com/" data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:36;elm:context_link;itc:0" data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="9" data-v9y="0" dir="ltr">Subscribe</a> and get a free copy of my new eBook, “The Power of One Percent Better: Small Gains, Maximum Results”. Join over 30,000 people who are on a mission to build a better life.<div data-ab="huffpostPlusMidEntryCta3" data-ab-b-title="Last chance to become a HuffPost founding member!" data-ab-c-title="Last chance to become a HuffPost founding member!">Calling all HuffPost superfans!</div><div data-ab="huffpostPlusMidEntryCta3" data-ab-b-desc="Sign up and help shape HuffPost's next chapter" data-ab-c-desc="Sign up for membership and help shape HuffPost's next chapter">Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost’s next chapter</div>

In a perfect world, by this time of the year, you would be halfway through your 2017 goals, right? Unfortunately, not many people can commit to a course ...

In a perfect world, by this time of the year, you would be halfway through your 2017 goals, right? Unfortunately, not many people can commit to a course of action to get what they want every year.

The Kaizen philosophy can make it insanely easy to commit to that goal. You should aim to continually make progress.

Instead of aiming for huge, drastic changes, what if you aimed to find small changes or actions you can make starting today. Small, continuous actions are the foundation of habits that stick. Einstein once said, “Compounding is the greatest mathematical discovery of all time.”

Stop aiming for a radical personal change!

A magic bullet cannot save you! You’ve got to embrace the process and enjoyit. You can’t escape the hard work it takes to get better. Every incredibly successful person you know today has been through the boring, mundane, time-tested process that eventually brings success. So, stop looking for “quick hacks” that bring faster results.

In his book, “<a data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="2" data-v9y="0" data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:6;elm:context_link;itc:0" dir="ltr" href="http://amzn.to/2fodofP" rel="nofollow">One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way </a>” Robert Maurer writes, “Once you’ve experienced the joy of taking the first step, you can decide whether it’s appropriate to take another. You’ll know you’re ready when your current step becomes automatic, effortless, and even pleasurable.

Instead of reading every self-improvement post for the one golden tip that will make you superhumanly efficient, focus on doing the actual work that needs to be done. You can inspire yourself to take action. The hard, long process is the only way though. You can’t achieve tremendous life success with a quick fix. Nobody gets it that easy.

Your big, audacious goals are not inspiring you!

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

Your attempt to be better usually ends in failure because you life-changing goals overwhelm you into inaction instead of inspiring you into action.Unrealistic goals make it insanely difficult to make any progress. You will get “stressed” over what is supposed to help you take action.

Helmut Schmidt encourages us to take baby steps towards a bigger goal. He once said, “Whoever wants to reach a distant goal must take small steps.”

Your performance and ability to get things done is inextricably bound to brain performance. A big, audacious goal looks scary to your brain. And when your brain encounters scary, it goes into “freeze” mode. You don’t want that. If you constantly overstretch yourself, you will lose the required energy you need to take the necessary action to get better.

Setting a goal, no matter how simple is always the easy part. Everyone has goals. The real challenge is not determining if you want the result, but if you are willing to accept the sacrifices required to achieve your goals.

If you want to achieve your goals at all times, create a system that works.Instead of a goal, design a great system or process. That way, you will always win. Even when your short-term goals are achieved, your next goal won’t be a struggle. Having a system is what matters. Committing to the process makes a huge difference.

“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily,” says Mike Murdock

Learning should not end after formal education. Lifelong learning, the ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated pursuit of knowledge can enrich your life and make you a better person every day.

Self-improvement isn’t a destination. You’re never done. Even if you have some success, and you want to maintain it, you have to keep doing the things you were doing that got you that success in the first place.

Your first step to improving your life and becoming the best version of your self won’t be easy. Nobody can promise you that things will be easy but they will get better. It pays to take a small action–any action–and grow from there.Remember, you are better off trying and crawling than anyone else who isn’t trying.

“Little strokes fell great oaks.” — Benjamin Franklin

Kaizen — Japanese for continuous improvement.

It was developed by Depression-era American business management theorists in order to build the arsenal of democracy that helped the U.S. win World War II. The Japanese took to the idea of small, continual improvement right away and gave it a name: Kaizen — Japanese for continuous improvement.

While Kaizen was originally developed to help businesses improve and thrive, it’s just as applicable to our personal lives.

The idea here is to focus on consistent improvements in your life, every day, no matter how small the step you take to be a better you than you were yesterday.

Kaizen is an amazing practice that yields extraordinary results with virtually no effort at all!

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%.”

“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

The Kaizen approach is a reminder that all improvements must be maintained if we wish to secure consistent gains. Think of the smallest step you can take every day that would move you incrementally towards your goal.

Becoming 1% better everyday is a simple, practical way to achieve big goals.1% seems like a small amount. Yes, it is. It’s tiny. It’s easy. It’s doable. And it’s applicable to most things you want to do or accomplish.

It feels less intimidating and is more manageable. It might feel less exciting than chasing a huge win, but its results will be stronger and more sustainable.

If you enjoyed this post, you will love <a data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="8" data-v9y="0" data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:36;elm:context_link;itc:0" dir="ltr" href="https://postanly.ongoodbits.com/" rel="nofollow">Postanly Weekly </a>(my free digest of the best productivity and self-improvement posts). <a data-rapid-parsed="slk" data-rapid_p="9" data-v9y="0" data-ylk="subsec:paragraph;cpos:36;elm:context_link;itc:0" dir="ltr" href="https://postanly.ongoodbits.com/" rel="nofollow">Subscribe </a>and get a free copy of my new eBook, “The Power of One Percent Better: Small Gains, Maximum Results”. Join over 30,000 people who are on a mission to build a better life.

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

The Kaizen Approach to Achieving Your Biggest Goal

ALBERT EINSTEIN

STEPHEN COVEY

The Small Steps That Change Your Life

Self-Improvement: 1 Percent Daily

Systems Instead Of Goals

MIKE MURDOCK

Little Things Into Big Things

IDEAS ABOUT

MORE LIKE THIS

The Kaizen Approach - The Philosophy of Constant Improvement

10X Your Results, One Tiny Action at a Time (The Power of Incremental Progress)

Burned out on Self-Improvement? The Art of Sustainable Goal-Setting

It's time to

READ

LIKE

A PRO!

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

The Kaizen Approach to Achieving Your Biggest Goal

ALBERT EINSTEIN

STEPHEN COVEY

The Small Steps That Change Your Life

Self-Improvement: 1 Percent Daily

Systems Instead Of Goals

MIKE MURDOCK

Little Things Into Big Things

IDEAS ABOUT

MORE LIKE THIS

The Kaizen Approach - The Philosophy of Constant Improvement

10X Your Results, One Tiny Action at a Time (The Power of Incremental Progress)

Burned out on Self-Improvement? The Art of Sustainable Goal-Setting

It's time to

READ

LIKE

A PRO!

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career