Kaizen

Kaizen is a Japanese term that I first heard about while reading an Anthony Robbins book (Awaken the Giant Within). It essentially means continuous/constant improvement in incremental steps. This was such a simple concept to me yet it blew me away. I think a lot of my goals that I set for this year, and for previous years follow this fashion. Now don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean I'm not setting big goals. It just means that I set smaller singular goals, and when you combine them, they compound.

It's the same philosophy Honda has followed since the company was first created. The irony about Honda and its success in the States is that it was an American by the name of Deming who went over to Japan and taught the principles of constant improvement and quality control. He ingrained the concept of quality into everyone that worked at Honda, and not just into the production of cars. Meanwhile in the west, car companies were opposed to the idea of investing in cars that lasted long and ran well. Instead they focused on increasing revenues, while decreasing costs. Well it's safe for me to say that we all know which company endured.

There is an amazing blog called Zen Habits that I was introduce to by my friend Derek M., and the concept of this blog is very similar. The author even goes as far as to claim that instead of aiming to break a habit or to develop a habit, cut that habit in two and aim for that result instead. Sound like a cop out? Well an example he uses is that instead of trying to quit smoking by going cold turkey, try reducing the amount of smokes you have in a week by half. And then over time, you will have a better chance of breaking the habit(smoking not the best example as it's ridicuously hard to quit).

As for me, I've recently acquired an acoustic guitar that I'm beginning to learn. And I think the concept of Kaizen is perfect for learning this instrument. First, I have to develop the strength in my hand and in my fingers to properly strum and play each note of the guitar properly. This in itself can take a few weeks to develop as a skill (a big reason beginners quit guitar). But I figure that if I practice daily, even for a short amount of time, I'll eventually be able to handle the coarseness of the steel strings. And soon I'll be able to play my first chord. And from there I'll be able to combine chords. And eventually I'll play a song.

I think in our society we're always looking for the quickest approach to breaking habits or developing habits or learning new skills. But if we apply the idea of Kaizen, and we take our time, and we focus on our strengths, well then anything really is possible.

And a year from now, I better know how to play the damn guitar:)