Kaizen


Welcome back to the Nomad Show

This is a show about philosophy, psychology, spirituality, and motivation. 

Together, we will ponder human nature from the perspective of the nomad, the sojourner, the immigrant, the traveler, the wanderer.

Today, we will be exploring the concept of Kaizen

Kaizen is a japanese phrase that means good change or improvement. With Kai meaning change, and Zen meaning good. 

As a healthcare practitioner, I first became aware of the concept of kaizen during my residency training. Hospitals utilize kaizen concepts to increase efficiency, help hospitals stay within their budgets, and provide streamlined processes in patience care. 
Kaizen focuses on small, continuous improvements that compound over time to create a more efficient, higher quality, safer workplace culture. 

Kaizen was popularized in business by the car company toyota. They utilized this philosophy to help ensure premium quality, elimination of waste, and improved efficiency. They standardize processes and follow procedures consistently - this helps their employees identify problems promptly. This creates reliable results and products. 

Kaizen in personal life involves mindfulness, self awareness and analysis, recognition of habits and a desire for personal growth and improvement. 

After identifying an area of growth, take small steps in the direction you want to go. 
If you want to lose 20 pounds, start by taking a walk on the treadmill, or removing a can of soda from your daily diet
If you want to run a marathon, start by running a mile a day, the increasing slowly.
If you want to start a blog, write one paragraph a day

Small incremental positive changes add up to massive improvements. 

In his book- the compound effect, Darren hardy discussed the power of small incremental changes made over time. 
Small smart consistent choices plus time leads to radical difference. Doing the little things right over and over and over again will add up to large positive results. 
One penny that doubles in value everyday becomes over 10 million dollars in just one month. 
If you cut 300 calories from your daily diet, you will lose 15 pounds in just 6 months. 
That’s the power of the compound effect. 

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”
Luke 16:10 

A few principles of kaizen that could be beneficial for you- 
  1. Let go of perfectionism and adopt small adaptive changes
  2. Don’t make assumptions
  3. Don’t accept the obvious issue- ask “why” over and over 
  4. Be proactive about solving problems. 
  5. Look for solutions as you find mistakes 

Self improvement is the ultimate form of self acceptance. We want to be the best version of ourselves, we also want to be ok with who we are. For one to truly grow, we have to accept the current state- with all its flaws and imperfections. Self acceptance does not mean wallowing in shame, or living in denial. It involves knowing the difference between what you can and cannot change; and having the fortitude to make massive change in the areas that you can affect. 
It is the true path to serenity. 

This has been another episode of the Nomad show. Hope you enjoyed it. 

For show notes, visit thenomadshow.com, follow us on  twitter @nomadshowtweets


Reference:

https://searcherp.techtarget.com/definition/kaizen-or-continuous-improvement

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