The Japanese philosophy of Kaizen is all about taking what seems insurmountable and making it manageable. In a nutshell, it works by shifting your attention away from the vastness of the challenge at hand, and choosing to focus more on gradual improvements.
Kaizen was popularized in the business world—in fact, this philosophy is often associated with the leadership of Toyota, a former textile company that transformed itself into the globe-spanning car manufacturer we all know today. They successfully achieved what seems like a radical overhaul by focusing on Kaizen, which can be translated as “good change.”
The effectiveness of this approach caused Kaizen to branch out from the business world. As more and more people witnessed its amazing results, they began to apply the philosophy to their own personal goals. These days, Kaizen is a staple within the self-help and wellness scene. There’s even an episode of This American Life about it!
Whether your goal involves fitness, mental health, social life, or any other theme, the principles of Kaizen can help make the process significantly easier. You’ll probably even enjoy yourself more, feeling that sense of accomplishment along the way, instead of just fixating on a finish line. So if you’re interested in self-improvement, learn how to incorporate Kaizen, and start making good change today.
Kaizen and exercise goals
Lots of people see the incredible benefits of a more active lifestyle and want to transform their habits. They start an exciting new exercise routine, but end up struggling to sustain it. Often, the problem lies not in their motivation to improve, but in dismissing the principles of gradual change, and over-committing themselves too quickly to a radically different lifestyle that can’t be maintained.
Instead, for prolonged and measurable success, try the Kaizen approach. If your starting point is little to no regular exercise, don’t jump into the gym seven days a week. Try to find just one physical activity that interests you, and give it a go, just once. If you enjoy yourself and feel good about the exercise, make an incremental adjustment, like committing to that exercise once a week.
When that routine starts to become the norm, then you can add a gym workout or a morning run to the mix. The idea is to set small, achievable goals you can knock out of the park. Eventually, your gradual progress will look like a massive improvement over your starting point!
Meetup is full of resources to help you pursue the Kaizen approach to fitness. For example, at the beginning of your fitness journey, you could find a group like NYC Outdoor Badminton and try out a fun, low-key outdoor activity. Later, you might add in some more intentional exercise with a group like Free community yoga in Miami. When you’ve progressed to the point of wanting a serious workout, you can get together with an adventurous group like the Rocky Mountain Cycling Club RMCC.
Kaizen in the kitchen
If you want to become a great home chef, you might be tempted to start buying all kinds of expensive cooking appliances and filling your fridge with tons of ingredients. But then, there’s all this pressure to immediately make good on all those purchases. As with any goal, you discover that going from zero to 100 so quickly is unsustainable. In this scenario, it wouldn’t be surprising if you wind up ordering takeout just as much as you were before you tried to make a change.
The smarter path to culinary glory starts with a single recipe. If you can find just one recipe that you enjoy making, you have a strong foundation to build upon. Cook that dish a few times. Maybe try some simple variations. Add one more recipe to the mix, and you’ve got a new catalog in the works! With this method, you can gradually decrease the amount of times you rely on takeout. This is a much healthier and more reliable system than the all-or-nothing approach.
As you really start to progress in your home cooking journey, you might consider joining a virtual session with a group like Chez Francois French Cooking Classes. Or you could explore more of the healthy eating lifestyle with a group like Eatin’ Vegan in Chicago.
How to use the Kaizen philosophy for all kinds of hobbies
There’s no limit to the benefits you can gain from incorporating this focus on gradual change into your daily life. If you’ve always wanted to learn a new language, you might allow yourself the time and space to start slow with just 10 minutes per day on Duolingo, then graduating to a beginner language group like Atlanta Spanish/English Language Exchange – Intercambio. A few more of the endless examples include:
- Meditation — Commit to setting aside just one minute per day, then two, and so on. Then you can try a longer group session with a community like Charleston Free Meditation.
- Drawing — You can start with just a pen and paper. Don’t worry about the final product yet, just keep drawing! As you gain more experience, then you might invest in some high quality supplies, and learn from fellow artists in a group like Art On Location- San Diego.
Dive deeper into the Kaizen philosophy through books like One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way. You can even create your own Meetup group and use the wisdom of Kaizen to help other people who share your interests and may be struggling to sustain their habit.
Last modified on July 25, 2023
