First thing to understand when practicing kaizen, is that it may take a long time to achieve your desired result.  It takes time to realize one’s dreams, but it is worth the wait. Kaizen can help you to achieve your goals and improve yourself, while making the process more enjoyable and ultimately, more achievable.

 

Ask yourself simple questions—When we visualize our goals, we tend to see them from afraid and we can get stuck in the ‘how can I reach it’ question, not realizing that it is merely a matter of several steps to make that dream come true.  By breaking down your goal with simple questions, you can change that mindset. Questions like ‘What is the first thing I can do?” or ‘If I spent just a few minutes a day doing (blank) it would help with…?” Nothing comes easy, no matter what the goal is, it needs a good attitude, perseverance, and consistence.

Create a process—In order to achieve a goal, you need to have an actionable process that is organized and repeatable.  When creating your process first determine if it is efficient, does it save you time, and if it will accomplish the desired outcome.  If not, you will need to change it. Remember to keep your thinking fluid, or you can become fixed on one thing and get stuck.

Prioritize your actions—You know the steps you need to take to achieve your goals, you have the processes set and ready, so now it’s time to decide on which order to pursue them in.  If this seems overwhelming, start with an action that will be easiest to initiate and go from there. Be easy on yourself, but be consistent and take action.

Make most of your time—At first glance, when you look at your daily schedule you will think it impossible to make time for yourself and finding space in your day to reach your goal.  However, you are taking small steps, so every night before you go to sleep, review your schedule for the next day and be realistic, but you need to discipline yourself.  Find a slot where you can take some time to reach your dream. Even if the next day only allows for a fifteen minute window to dedicate to it, do not put it off for another day. If not now, when?