塵も積もれば山となる
Chiri mo tsumoreba yama to naru
Even specks of dust if piled up can become mountains.
A warrior always strives for continuous improvement. It is thought that only about 8% of people ever achieve their goals and some statistics reveal that less than 2% people ever achieve a black belt. Most fail not because they themselves are bad or flawed, but because their methodology is poor. Some Japanese believe that the loftier the goal, the smaller the steps should be. Strolling towards one’s goals can sometimes be more effective. A Japanese method of continuous improvement is referred to as kaizen (改善) or “good change.” Kaizen is a systematic approach that is based upon common sense, self-discipline, order and economization and it can be summed up as the plan-do-check-act method. Here are the 10 principles of Kaizen:
1. Continuously improve everything.
2. Challenge outdated concepts.
3. Make things happen not excuses.
4. Don’t assume that things will work just because they did before.
5. If something is wrong, fix it.
6. Empower everyone to take part in problem solving.
7. Get information and opinions from multiple people.
8. Before making decisions, ask “why” five times to get to the root cause.
9. Be economical with your time and money.
10. Remember that improvement has no limits. Never stop trying to improve.
Budo is a journey filled with ups and downs. If we become too attached with the ups, then any low point can sink our efforts. Thus, we should not measure ourselves by the big accomplishments, but by the smaller victories. In Kaizen, it is believed that little things can become big things. For instance, one kaizen weight loss advocate suggested that a person start by doing jumping jacks during TV commercials. Thus, if we start small and methodical, then we can create good habits which will snowball and eventually lead to success. With the kaizen method, even specks of dust can pile up and eventually become mountains and that is how a warrior can strive for continuous improvement.
Today’s goal: What small steps can you make toward achieving your goals?