The Kaizen method is the best way to achieve your goals and change your life. And why? Because it’s a method that helps us not to procrastinate and, above all, not to give up! So, here are the 3 steps you need to follow to use the Kaizen method and improve your life step by step.

A book on the Kaizen method

I discovered it in the book:

One small step can change your life – The Kaizen way by Robert Maurer.

A magical book, a powerful method, inspiring testimonials… In other words, a book I wholeheartedly recommend (laughs).

So, how did this book and this method change my life? Quite simply because the Kaizen method is so accessible, so gentle, that it’s impossible not to use it well.

Let me explain. The Kaizen method is all about achieving your goals one small step at a time.

In other words, it’s a far cry from the usual motivational speeches. And that’s why this method is so powerful, because it’s adapted to most people in the world, people who have a job, a family life and therefore don’t have a lot of time and energy to devote to their goals, even if they change their lives.

They also help people who don’t have the self-confidence to take the plunge. Taking small steps isn’t scary, because you don’t have to take big risks.

This method has changed my life for these reasons, and it will surely change your life too. So, here are 3 steps to using the Kaizen method.

1 – Kaizen method: Defining a goal

1 – You already have a goal in mind
Maybe you’re reading this article and already have a goal in mind. Perfect! And congratulations. In fact, having goals gives you the feeling of moving forward, of progressing, and is therefore the best way to be happy.

So, first of all, I’d like you to check that this goal is really important to you. In other words, that you’re really doing it for yourself, that you’re sure it will help you move forward and bring you more joy.

All too often, we have “I must” and “I must” goals. These are goals we define for ourselves in relation to the way others see us, in relation to what we think we should be doing.

So how do we know?

I invite you to ask yourself these questions:

Why is this goal my goal?
Why haven’t I already achieved it?
These two questions will help you find out whether you have this goal in mind because you want to, or because you think you’re doing the right thing by having it.

Remember, the Kaizen method, powerful though it is, won’t help you achieve your goal, change your life, if your goal doesn’t speak to your heart.

2 – If you don’t have a goal
Don’t panic! It’s perfectly normal to be at a point in our lives when we no longer know what we like or what we want. A moment when we’re lost and don’t really have any energy left.

So what can we do?

The Kaizen method helps us discover what we like and what we want.

Rather than imagining our ideal life, which often resembles the movies we’ve watched since childhood, the Kaizen method invites us to look for the little things in everyday life that make us smile.

So ask yourself these questions:

What are my favorite moments of the day, week, month or year?
What do I like best about my work? In my relationships? When I’m at home? On vacation?
Give yourself time to answer these questions. To do so, take a more curious look at your life. Look at the simplest things and moments.

Once you’ve discovered the little things, the little moments of everyday life that you love, choose the one that pleases you the most, right now.

To do this, remember that changing your life doesn’t have to be about setting goals that impact your whole life, it can be about the little things that brighten up your everyday life at home: reading more, taking up gardening, learning to paint…

In other words, do what you enjoy, what makes you smile.

Because changing your life means bringing more joy into it. Quite simply.

2 – Principle of the Kaizen method: small steps at a time

Now that you have your goal and are ready to change your life, it’s time to slow down.

In fact, most life-changing methods invite us to take major actions and turn our lives upside down. And that’s why most of the time we give up on our goals.

Why do we give up? Because we’re asked to make too many changes all at once, and fear creeps in.

In fact, let’s understand that it’s fear that paralyzes us and invites us to give up.

Because fear is uncomfortable and our mind will do anything to avoid it.

And that’s where the Kaizen method can change your life, because it invites you to take one small step at a time.

1 – In concrete terms, how do I use the Kaizen Method?
First of all, you need to understand that the most important thing is not to go fast, but to move forward.

And that moving slowly doesn’t prevent you from moving forward.

But to go fast is to risk giving up. Because you’ll wear yourself out, and then it’s too late.

2 – But what’s taking baby steps?
When we have a goal, it’s a matter of breaking it down into small steps. A small step is an action that doesn’t scare us at all.

Let’s take an example: My goal is to lose weight. I don’t have much time, I can’t afford it and I’m not very sporty. Yet, most methods would invite me to go to the gym 2 or 3 times a week for 1h30, but the Kaizen method invites us to take a small step like: doing 20 squats in front of the TV in the evening or doing 1 sit-up in the morning.

Yes, 1 sit-up every day for a week, for example. Then do 2, then 5, then 10 and so on.

In fact, the aim of the Kaizen method is to take small steps that help us to have confidence in ourselves, to show ourselves that every day we are capable of moving forward.

And it’s thanks to this self-confidence that we’ll want to take the small steps a little bigger.

Can you see the difference?

3 – It’s your turn to take small steps
So, take the goal you set yourself in the first step and have fun listing at least 10 different small steps you could take to move forward.

Then choose the small step that makes you want to take the most, that you enjoy the most, and start today, and then every day for a week to begin with.

Finally, in a week’s time, take stock and again list 10 examples of small steps you could take. Then choose the one you like best, and so on…

3 – Remember that happiness is the way to change your life, step by step.

The Kaizen method is powerful, because it makes us understand that happiness is the way.

Indeed, all too often, we mistakenly believe that our lives will change and that we’ll be happy only once we’ve achieved our goal.

So, yes, we’ll be happy.

But we’ll be happy from the first step to the last.

Yes, we won’t only be happy at our destination, we’ll be happy along the way.

And that’s what the Kaizen method allows us to do. It invites us to move forward with joy and lightness.

In fact, you don’t have to fight to achieve your goals and change your life. Yes, you can do it with joy.

Give yourself this gift.

In other words, stop believing that life is a race, a battle to be fought. Life is a path on which there are obstacles, to be sure, but we can overcome them as joyfully as possible.

Choose joy. Choose lightness.

Leave stress, performance and the gaze of others behind.

To do this, remember that the most important thing is not to go as fast as possible, but to go as happily as possible. So take small steps with a light heart.