Concept of permanent development and self-improvement
If a man controls his mind, he would be able to get everything he wants from life.
Unknown author
If a man knows not what harbor he seeks, any wind is the right wind
Seneca
Author of many recent books on self-development often mislead readers, persuading them that results can be achieved quickly and it is possible to become successful overnight in all spheres of life and then rest on the laurels. It is indeed tempting, but wrong concept.
Based on experience of many famous people, and in the end, on my own practice, I realized that self-improvement – is a lifetime process. You can start it at any age, but, of course, the sooner, the better.
So, how can you start and implement it in practice?
In the middle of the last century, during the period of economic recovery after World War II, a philosophy, which was later became known as "kaizen”, has become increasingly popular in Japan. Initially this term was introduced by Masaaki Imai, author of the book «Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success». Toyotahas chosen this special development concept as its official philosophy, which finally brought it to phenomenal success.
Kaizen is based on several basic principles that can be used for personal development:
- continuous change - a position that characterizes the essence of this philosophy. This refers to the permanent small changes in all areas of organization or personal life;
- open acknowledgment of the problems - the understanding that improvement is impossible without them;
- development of self-discipline - to develop self-control and respect both to yourself and to others employees and the organization as a whole;
- responsibility for resolving certain issues;
- planning and analysis of the results.
The concept of "kaizen" means continuous improvement of working methods and personal effectiveness in business and other spheres. This philosophy assumes that all aspects of life should be improved constantly and endlessly.
I want to convey to you the idea of the vital necessity of continuous improvement based on kaizen, researches in the field of psychology, and my personal experience gained at trainings and in different situation.
It is important to understand that this is a continuous process that should never stop. It is due to the openness and readiness for development our life moves upward on spiral that determines all aspects of our existence and personal development.
We will talk about how this approach can be implemented in all spheres of life in the following chapters.