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A Japanese Philosophy That Will IMPROVE Your Life – Kaizen - YouTube
Channel: Practical Wisdom - Interesting Ideas
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Achieving Your Biggest Goals Using the Kaizen
Philosophy
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John is struggling with conversations.
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He attended a dinner at his friend’s house,
and as the drinks kept flowing, the discussions
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became more heated.
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However, John has been unable to contribute
any more than a few words because he did not
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have anything to say.
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He is very proud of his intellectual prowess
and ability to trump arguments, and so today
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left his ego pretty bruised.
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So, John has decided to reintroduce the habit
of reading.
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He used be aware of all current events, but
the day’s discussion left him wondering
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what rock he has been living under lately.
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In today’s video, we are talk about Kaizen,
the Japanese philosophy that means “to become
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good through change”.
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Contrary to what is peddled, overnight success
only happens when you win the lottery.
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Realizing your goals, if they aren’t lottery-related,
takes time and continuous improvement.
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The question we answer today is; how can you
achieve massive goals using the Kaizen approach?
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The Kaizen Approach
How old are you?
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Are you an employee struggling to get that
next promotion?
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Is it your final year in university and you
are hoping and working hard for a fulfilling
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career ahead?
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Or maybe you have just had your first child
and are already thinking of a college fund
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for him or her.
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The kaizen approach starts when you answer
the question, ‘what are your goals?’
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A teenager’s goal could be to go to Harvard
University since he or she wants to be a big
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shot lawyer.
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For you, financial freedom at 40 years of
age is the dream.
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The goal of a nine-month-old baby could be
to stand on their own two feet without their
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parent’s help.
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A goal defines a point in the future that
you in the present would like to achieve.
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The next step is to create a system through
which you will be able to achieve this goal.
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John wants to get back to his old argumentative
self; in his ideal future, his friends listening
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to him in awe because of the good points he
contributes to discussions.
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The difference John has to cater for is knowledge
on everything that is happening currently.
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For this video, a system is defined as the
combination of behaviors that are done regularly
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and feed into a goal.
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Thus, John has therefore, developed a system
of reading books on current issues to achieve
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his objective.
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After World War II, Kaizen was developed in
a bid to eliminate waste and increase efficiency
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in industrial processes.
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This was done by introducing small positive
changes into these processes to lead to an
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eventual increase in quality of the products.
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A system for achieving a goal is the equivalent
of an industrial process.
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For John to utilize this philosophy he needs
to break down his system of reading books
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on current events into its smallest form;
reading 2 pages every day.
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Reading two pages of a book a day will encounter
the least resistance from John as compared
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to 20 pages of the same.
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Positive changes are then introduced to this
system.
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On the first day, John reads 2 pages; on the
third day, he scales it up to 4 pages and
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to 5 on the seventh day.
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This system is improved daily until it becomes
a habit that will lead to the achievement
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of the goal.
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Procrastination and an inability to achieve
goals arise when you are so entirely focused
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on the goal, that you forget the process of
getting there.
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Comparing the small progress we are making
and the massive goal that is ahead of us may
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trick our brain into thinking that we aren’t
doing anything or getting anywhere.
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Kaizen understands that eventual gains arise
from systems, and by improving how we use
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our time, effort and smarts in the process,
we will get our desired results.
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If the story of the hare and the tortoise
is anything to go by, slow and steady does
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win the race.
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What About When You Are Backtracking?
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Kaizen works on improving systems that are
already in place or have been introduced.
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It is for this reason that it has contributed
to the success of companies like Toyota and
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Canon.
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However, it becomes a little tricky when the
philosophy is used by human beings because
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of our emotional nature.
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What happens when we are no longer energetic,
ambitious and excited about our new goals?
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Is kaizen useful when you are down, lethargic
or when you simply revert to your old habits?
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It is important to understand that this philosophy
is about eventual positive improvement and
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the development of good habits.
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Developing a habit is like building muscle
from working out over a period.
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When you miss strength training for three
sessions, the muscle you built over six months
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is unlikely to dissipate into thin air.
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If you are going through a rough patch, don’t
be frustrated and give up.
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For a while now, Brian has been failing at
his goal of sleeping for at least 7 hours
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a night.
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When you look closely, however, you will note
three years ago, he was sleeping for barely
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3 hours every day; currently, he sleeps for
between 4 and 5 hours a night.
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While he may not have achieved his ultimate
goal, the progress he has made is undeniable.
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And that is the greatest strength that the
philosophy of Kaizen has; constant progress.
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Thank you guys so much for watching today’s
video, and all the best as you make those
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small steps to your ideal future self.
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