Making a resolution stick (4/5)
The Kaizen Principle.
Kaizen is a Japanese principle that roughly translates to ‘tiny improvements made consistently over a long time add up to large changes’.
Previously, I urged you to start small, because doing so allows you to overcome the inertia of the initial action and from there you can build momentum. In the same spirit I urge you to make incremental, but compounding improvements. Progressions should feel almost too small to be significant. In making such a small step happen, however, we make progress that feels natural and even easy. Just as with how compounding interest makes small differences each month but transformations over decades, so too small changes each day or week transform your body and health over years.
Many people don’t want to be patient and consistent. It certainly doesn’t sell many books or transformational guides. It is, however, a wise path to take when trying to make significant and lasting change.
In my gym, we have what are known as fractional plates, where we can add as little as half a kilo to a lift. The best gym I’ve ever visited had dumbbells that went up in 0.5kg increments. So yes they had 29.5 kg dumbbells. These small increments open the door to success. Many a time I have seen people stuck at a weight because they felt 5 or 10 kg was the only worthy next step.
In the west, we tend to be in a rush to make the most radical transformation, the fastest progress. But rarely is this easy for the brain, or the many social systems we live within, to adapt to. Small changes stick, and therefore the next small change is additive. The key is consistency, which, if you’re making use of the reflective practice we spoke about last week, you should find natural and frictionless.
