Small Changes

There are times when big changes work really well. Something happens when we are at a point in our lives that are ready to commit to the change that needs to happen. Our minds go into overdrive and we are able to accomplish what was impossible to us the day before yesterday. No matter what, we are there. And when we are in overdrive, the big change happens.

Then there are the other times. When attempting to make a big change or two, it is like we have bitten off more than we can handle chewing. We try to summon the mind over matter attitude that worked before. Pep talk after pep talk occurs. We make promises to ourselves and maybe even an ultimatum or two. All too often when we have tried the big change and things haven't worked out well, we walk away from the problem feeling a total failure.

There is another way. It is a Japanese Management Principle called Kaizen. In Japanese the word "Kaizen" means "improvement" or "change for the better" and refers to the philosophy of focusing on continuous, sustainable improvement.

The principle also works in ones personal life as well. Let's say someone wants to stop smoking, start exercising daily, eat a more balanced diet and be on time for all appointments. When we approach life and make small sustainable changes, we are most often able to carry them out in a way that means we will be able to sustain the change or changes. We break the huge changes into small, sustainable, easier to manage steps.

Let's look at stopping smoking. There are all kinds of smaller steps that could happen that could help us succeed.

-We might go visit a doctor and see if our insurance covers any smoking cessation aids.

-We might take a day and see if there are any smoking cessation programs that might help.

-We could cut down one cigarette a day, maintain that for a week or two then cut back one more.

-We could delay smoking the cigarettes by 15 minutes.

-We could decide if we wanted to try chewing gum instead.

-We might try to get a friend to buddy up with us and both of us try to stop smoking at the same time.

-We might arrange to call a friend when stressed and try to talk first before we smoke the cigarette first.

We can plan out how we want the small changes to start to occur and then start. (Deciding to start a change is usually the first step.) It helps change our attitude. When we can start to see how something can happen we have a better chance of succeeding. It is important when we want to change something that we be able to see ourselves as successful at the end. While a thought this positive might not be available to use at the beginning, we may become able to to see the possibility as a reality somewhere down the path.

Let's look at eating more healthily. We can choose to try to change everything all at once. That may mean something like; no chocolate, no ice cream, no caffeine, no white breads, portion control, eating little but rabbit food, no red meats, etc. When we try to change everything all at once in this fashion (like with a new years eve resolution); we may become overwhelmed and set ourselves up for failure.

Instead of trying everything all at once we can start with one change at a time. In the first week we can do one small change, then the next week we can do a second small change. The changes are cumulative. They build up as one goes along.

-I will eat 2 helpings of vegetables (or 2 more helpings of vegetables) today.

-I will eat 1 meatless meal this week.

-I will eat foods from home one day a week.

-When Sue and I cook together this week, we will make one healthy food that -we can each have leftovers to take home and use.

-I will eat one food that is locally grown.

-When I cook, I will use cooking spray instead of butter or oil.

-I will replace my white bread with whole grain.

Then one can decide what one would like to tackle first. Then after one does one thing, one can decide if it worked for them or not. If it didn't they could choose to go back to the way things were before and try something different or they could choose to do a tweak or two from where they are.

Using a small steps towards continuous improvement gives us the opportunity to be successful, one small step at a time. Another way of putting it is: life is a cinch by the inch but by the yard it is hard. Or how does one eat an elephant? One bite at a time.