A Japanese technique to overcome laziness. From time to time, all of us set ourselves a new goal or challenge and just as often, in the end we fail, to achieve them. You end up telling yourself that you are not ready yet: that you will do it next week next month or even next year.
Why do we give up so easily! The answer is
fairly obvious. We try to achieve our goals too much and too fast. We get sick
of the new responsibilities and it's tough to change old habits and try
something new. As a result you, get tired and bored very quickly.
How to
stop procrastinating? This is a great
solution to overcome laziness and achieve anything you wish. This method takes
less than a minute and results are quite impressive. The technique is called Kaizen
or the 1-minute principle. Kaizen originated in Japan and it is something that
anyone can attempt in any sphere of their life.
In Japan, for instance, it's often applied to improve management techniques.
The word itself contains two routes, “KAI” (change) and “ZEN” (wisdom).
It means you shouldn't change your life spontaneously
but slowly and wisely. The new habit should occur as a result of your reflection
and life experience. This method was invented by “Masaaki Imai” who believes
this philosophy can be applied just as successfully to the world of business as
it can be to one's personal life.
How does this method work? In Japanese culture,
the practice of Kaizen includes the concepts of the 1-minute principle for
self-improvement. At the heart of this method, is the idea that you should
practice doing something for a single minute every day at the same time. Just
for a minute, no more. It shouldn't be any trouble for absolutely anyone. Even the laziest person can carry out a given
task for such a small amount of time. We
usually find an excuse not to do something when faced with carrying the task
out for thirty minutes or an hour a day.
However, you should be able to do it for at least 60 seconds without any
misgivings. Why does the method work? At first glance, this practice might seem
doubtful and ineffective for people who have grown up in Western culture, that claims
the idea that you can only achieve your goals by undertaking enormous efforts.
However, it's not true at all. Challenging programs of self-improvement that
deprive you of vast amounts of energy can end up exhausting you and leave no
tangible results. Whether it's doing
push-ups or studying a foreign language, the task won't seem like something
unpleasant that you have to get through.
Instead, it will become an activity that brings you joy and satisfaction.
Take one little step at a time and you will move on the path of self perfection.
The one minute principle lets you see the
progress you're making and it's a critical part of forming new habits. It's
important to overcome that lack of confidence you might have in your abilities
as well as free yourself from guilt and helplessness. You need to experience a
sense of victory and success to move forward. The moment those feelings inspire
you, you will gradually begin to increase the amount of time you spend on the
goal that you have set for yourself. Maybe,
at first, just for five minutes more but this will soon turn into half an hour
and then even longer. All you have to do is understand what it is you want to
achieve and start doing it for just a minute, every single day.
This will help you stop procrastinating, have good health and life long success. 