kaizen

Let go of your big, hairy and audacious goals (BHAGs) and simply focus on learning and growing every day.

We need to embrace small, continuous improvements on a daily basis. The Japanese have even given this idea a name: Kaizen, which is the Japanese word for continuous improvement.

Worry less about achieving the big goals that you have laid out for yourself and instead keep your main goal to become better every day. When we let go of the need to accomplish our mighty goals, we start making progress.

Little progress every day can lead to big achievements. As Coach John Wooden has said, “When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur. When you improve conditioning a little each day, eventually you have a big improvement in conditioning. Not tomorrow, not the next day, but eventually a big gain is made. Don’t look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That’s the only way it happens — and when it happens, it lasts.”