So you want to make a change in your life? What kind of change? What motivates you to change?
Lifestyle change can be very hard for people to make, especially after years of creating unhealthy habits. Every time we do an action, a pathway is created or solidified in our brain. The more that we do that same action over and over again, the deeper the pathway and the harder it is to make a new pathway.
Addictions are created by compulsively doing the same thing over and over again until the synapses in the brain are deep groves that are difficult to find a pathway out.
In Japanese culture, there is a concept of change called "kaizen." Kaizen starts with tiny changes and improvements moving towards complete change. The Sino-Japanese word means "good change" and is similar in meaning to the English word improvement. A kaizen practitioner would recommend the smallest change which would lead to a complete 180. For example, if you wanted to quit drinking coffee, a kaizen change would start with cutting back 1 ounce of coffee at a time until you are completely done with that habit.
If you wanted to start exercising again, a kaizen change would be 10 sit-ups a day until you worked up to an entire workout routine. The reason why kaizen works is because you are bit by bit etching a new synapse in your brain towards a new habit. It doesn't matter how small you are starting, it is that you are starting.
Anytime you are considering making a lifestyle change, it is important to realize that you should make changes that fit into your personality and your current lifestyle so that you can have success. When I made changes in my lifestyle, I made an extreme dramatic makeover in the course of a few days. My personality thrives with change and with absolutes and extremes so this was the perfect way to make a change for me.
However, for someone who is very busy and who has deeply interwoven bad habits into their lifestyle, it may be important to approach change with the philosophy of kaizen.
Ask yourself the question, what is the most important thing to change in my life right now? And what would be the first step forward? Once you determine the area that needs the most help and attention, take a very practical and very small step forward. Pretty soon, you will build momentum towards lasting change in your life which will be very rewarding.
Have you ever watched the show Super Nanny? I find this show very interesting because of the value that is shown in bringing in an outside person to consult with regarding areas of a family's life that is lacking or is not balanced. Super Nanny does a wonderful job of not only assessing where change is needed, but delivering creative ideas to implement small changes.
On a path in the woods, if someone slightly started walking 2 degrees to the left, eventually they will be on a completely different path. Imagine your life going in the wrong direction and how the smallest adjustment to the left or right could benefit where you land 5 years from now, 10 years from now, and 25 years from now.
Let's embrace change and implement Kaizen into our lives!
