Applying the Kaizen Philosophy to Your Daily Life

What’s your perspective of “change”? Should the change happen all at a time or step by step? You can find its answer using a simple philosophy named “Kaizen”.

The Kaizen philosophy is the Japanese philosophy of small improvements done on a regular basis. Its main belief lies in the fact that there is room for refinement in almost everything. Simply put, Kaizen aims to bring small improvements that involve the ongoing efforts of everyone. These small improvements when practiced consistently over a period of time produce bigger effects.

An Introduction to The Kaizen Philosophy

You might have heard the phrase which states that if you work on yourself daily by 1%, after a year you would have improved by 365%. The idea behind that same consistent and continuous self-improvement in Japanese is referred to as “Kaizen”. The word ‘Kai’ here means change for the better and ‘Zen‘ means ‘good’. It is a process of continuously trying out new things to change for the better and keep improving one’s way of life.

This philosophy is a way of chunking complicated tasks into smaller and more approachable steps, by taking action consistently. It focuses on increasing efficiency as well as productivity by taking one step at a time. Also, make sure to measure your improvements so that you can get even further motivation and momentum to perform better and be more productive. As we move forward with our tiny steps, we move through the difficulties with more ease, less resistance, and less struggle.

Advantages of Kaizen

In the Kaizen philosophy, we focus on small yet sure steps made every day, instead of drastic changes made only in times of panic or necessity. Therefore, Kaizen can work wonders in your life because these small changes have a fantastic effect in the long term.

• It makes you more self-confident.
• It raises one’s self-esteem.
• It improves your capability of decision making.
• It makes you more disciplined in life.
• It increases your productivity and performance.
• It develops a creative attitude in you allowing you to work smarter and faster instead of harder.

How can we apply Kaizen in everyday life?

There is not a single area in our life where we can’t apply this philosophy. Health, education, career, business, human relations, time, wherever there is a scope of improvement; this philosophy can be applied.

For example, completing the syllabus just a night before the exam is much more difficult than reading on a regular basis (no matter how cool it might seem for students). Similarly, if you want to lead a healthy life, healthy habits like having a balanced diet, adequate sleep and exercise, etc. are required daily, not just once or twice.

In the same way, self-improvement is something that requires consistent efforts and actions. The point is to go keep on going on the right track and to stay on the road to your growth. Moreover, daily targeted action makes things much easier than all at once.

Final thoughts

Kaizen is not a “magic pill” but a mindset, a way of life. This is not about gaining immediate and fast results, rather a philosophy based on constant development and long-term results. It teaches us perseverance, discipline, optimism, commitment, and consistency. How do you choose to live your life, depends solely on how much you want to improve yourself, every single day? And kaizen allows you to focus on that.

In short, the philosophy of kaizen is the road to your continuous development. It’s these small steps that decide our destiny! So Kaizen is a true journey that never ends until you die.