How One Tiny Thing Can Change Your Day and Your Life
The rewards of micro habits are at the heart of Kaizen. The concept of Kaizen teaches us that making small, tiny changes to our routine and lifestyle can add up to overwhelming differences in our overall productivity, happiness, and performance.
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An example of this might be to write a page of a novel every day. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but if you consider that an average novel might have 300 pages… well, then you could easily write the whole thing in a year as a result! The rewards of a well-established micro habit!
Kaizen is all about utilizing the natural rewards of micro habits
Or what if you were to save just $10 a day? Again, it seems entirely doable. But by the end of the year, you’ll have put away $3,600! Enough for a memorable holiday. Nice micro habit rewards there!
But Kaizen is also about how a single small deviation can have huge repercussions when it is amplified by time.
What do I mean by that?
Well, consider throwing a ball to a target. When we do this, our brains actually perform incredibly complex math first. When you throw that ball, you need to get the angle and the force precisely right. If your angle is 5 degrees off, then that might not seem like a lot, but as the ball travels, it will deviate from the intended course more and more.
The further it goes, the bigger the gap becomes.
Life is like this. Micro habits add up positively or negatively.
You might do something slightly different every day, but over time that will add up to a greater and greater effect. Rarely will the outcome be neutral. The rewards of micro habits – or repercussions! Let’s use Kaizen-style productivity to really gain some steam towards our heart’s desires.
This is particularly true in scenarios where there is a cumulative effect.
But it gets even simpler than that.
“One method is to focus on a concept called Kaizen, which is a Japanese productivity philosophy that translates to “good change.” With this method, you focus on continuous improvement in your life.”
What is Kaizen?
When we consider the “butterfly effect,” we realize that even the smallest habits can add up to huge repercussions.
Take, for example, doing your grooming routine in the morning. You might decide one morning not to – because you’re in a hurry – but then, you change your mind and decide to go ahead and take that time.
Small difference, right? But what if on that day, you happen to bump into someone in the street, an old colleague perhaps? You get to chatting, and they think you look good – like you have your act together. They ask you some questions, and as a result, end up offering you to come and interview for a new job.
What if you hadn’t gone through your grooming routine? What if you were looking tired and harried? Might they not have given you that opportunity?
It’s very possible. And while this isn’t exactly what I mean by Kaizen, it does highlight one fundamental truth: tiny differences add up to tremendous results.
So focus on the minutiae! Kaizen style!
What small habits or practices can you add to your daily routines that will reap the thing you desire to accomplish, but don’t seem able to stick with? Write out a 365-day plan with tiny incremental steps, keeping Kaizen and the rewards of micro habits!
Please note that this article contains affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure at the bottom of the page.
