Have you stuck to your new year resolutions? I wonder how many of us got further than the list of possible changes we wanted to make and put them into action? If your changes were big ones this could be the problem.

Our brain chemistry reacts to big changes with the “fight-or-flight” response. This means that our brain panics and reboots before any change can occur but there are ways you can tip-toe around this resistance.

Kaizen is a Japanese technique that allows you to achieve great and lasting success by doing just that.
Kaizen breaks down any change into small steps and your brain won’t suspect a thing!

I read ‘One Small Step Can Change Your Life—The Kaizen Way’ by Robert Maurer while I was on holiday this year. The application of Kaizen breaks down into strategies:

• asking small questions to dispel fear and inspire creativity • thinking small thoughts to develop new skill and habits—without moving a muscle • taking small actions that guarantee success; solving small problems, even when you’re faced with overwhelming crisis • bestowing small rewards to yourself or others to produce the best results • recognising the small but crucial moments that everyone else ignores

Robert describes how one woman; a single, working mother, went to her doctors because she was feeling fatigued and unwell. The doctor told her to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day. For a woman already stretched for time this seemed an impossible task and so was dismissed. Robert advised her to march for one minute in front of the TV every day. ‘Now that’s more like it!’ she thought. She did this for a week and then decided she could manage two minutes. Over time she worked up to a 30 minute exercise routine and because it was done gradually over time it became habitual. Even though it seems to take longer this way while she is doing her exercises still she would’ve either started and not continued or not even started at all because the fight-or-flight response would’ve kicked in.

You are re-training your brain and building habits - good ones!

If you still have some resolutions left on your list I suggest you grab a copy of this book from the library and start reading. Then you need to pick ONE of them and break it down into a tiny step that is easy to achieve. Put your cigarette out before you normally would, go and stand on a treadmill without turning it on...etc. You get the picture? Small steps; baby ones lead to big goals being completed.