• Kaizen is a process of improving a habit using very small steps.• Small steps can lead to big changes.• Kaizen disarms the brain’s fear response making change come more naturally.• By taking steps so tiny that they seem trivial or even laughable, you’ll sail calmly past obstacles that have defeated you before.

Kaizen

• 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?• What is one small step I could take to improve my health (or relationships, or career, or any other area)?• If somebody’s annoying you, ask yourself, “What’s one good thing about this person?”• What is one small thing that is special about me (or my spouse, or my organization)?

Quality Questions

• The art of making great and lasting change comes through small, steady steps.• Kaizen circumvents the brain’s built-in resistance to new behaviors.• Small rewards lead to big returns.

Short Summary

• Your brain is programmed to resist change. But, by taking small steps, you effectively rewire your nervous system.• Kaizen questions such as ‘What’s the smallest step I can take to be more efficient?’ allow us to bypass our fears.

Take Very Small Steps

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.

Gratitude

Myth #1: Change is hard.Myth #2: The size of the step determines the size of the result, so take big steps for big results.Myth #3: Kaizen Is slow; innovation is quicker.

Three Common Myths About Change

<ul><li>Small actions are at the Heart of kaizen. </li><li>By taking steps so tiny that they seem trivial or even laughable, you’ll sail calmly past obstacles that have defeated you before. </li><li>Slowly—but painlessly!—you’ll cultivate an appetite for continued success and lay down a permanent new route to change.</li><li>The kaizen approach to life requires a slower pace and an appreciation of small moments. This pleasant technique can lead to creative breakthroughs and excellence.</li></ul>

Baby Steps 

The essential guide to kaizen—the art of making great and lasting change through small, steady steps—is now in paperback. Written by Dr. Robert Maurer, a psychologist on the staff of both the University of Washington School of Medicine and Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center, and an expert on kaizen who speaks and consults nationally, One Small Step Can Change Your Life is the gentle but potent way to effect change. It is for anyone who wants to lose weight. Or quit smoking. Or write a novel, start an exercise program, get out of debt, or conquer shyness and meet new people. Beginning by outlining the all-important role that fear plays in every type of change—and kaizen’s ability to neutralize it by circumventing the brain’s built-in resistance to new behavior—Dr. Maurer then explains the 7 Small Steps: how to Think Small Thoughts, Take Small Actions, Solve Small Problems, and more. He shows how to perform mind sculpture—visualizing virtual change so that real change comes more naturally. Why small rewards lead to big returns by internalizing motivation. How great discoveries are made by paying attention to the little details most of us overlook. Rooted in the two-thousand-year-old wisdom of the Tao Te Ching—“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”—here is the way to change your life without fear, without failure, and to begin a new, easy regimen of continuous improvement.

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The essential guide to kaizen—the art of making great and lasting change through small, steady steps—is now in paperback. Written by Dr. Robert Maurer, a psychologist on the staff of both the University of Washington School of Medicine and Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center, and an expert on kaizen who speaks and consults nationally, One Small Step Can Change Your Life is the gentle but potent way to effect change. It is for anyone who wants to lose weight. Or quit smoking. Or write a novel, start an exercise program, get out of debt, or conquer shyness and meet new people. Beginning by outlining the all-important role that fear plays in every type of change—and kaizen’s ability to neutralize it by circumventing the brain’s built-in resistance to new behavior—Dr. Maurer then explains the 7 Small Steps: how to Think Small Thoughts, Take Small Actions, Solve Small Problems, and more. He shows how to perform mind sculpture—visualizing virtual change so that real change comes more naturally. Why small rewards lead to big returns by internalizing motivation. How great discoveries are made by paying attention to the little details most of us overlook. Rooted in the two-thousand-year-old wisdom of the Tao Te Ching—“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”—here is the way to change your life without fear, without failure, and to begin a new, easy regimen of continuous improvement.

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