Think consistency over intensity. This is message 435 and day 89 in the 98 day 8 C Challenge and this message is dedicated to the memory of Ed Demming.
Do you know how I ballooned to almost 230lbs? Do you know how anyone gains weight? Getting out of shape doesn’t happen all of a sudden. People or businesses or governments don’t come to financial ruin overnight. A person doesn’t get sick by surprise. We get sick gradually. It is a thousand poor eating choices, financial decisions, and health violations.
When a turn around is decided, a person often want to see an immediate resolution. People go cold turkey and begin aggressive, radical change. But sickness isn’t immediate, wellness isn’t either. The trouble with trouble is we want out of it fast. Ruin isn’t entered fast. It won’t be exited fast. When a person jumps into working out an hour and a half a day or cuts out all junk food, it’s a set up for failure.
The one question that reset my course a few years ago I mention recently “What is one thing that if you changed would make the single big improvement in your life?” I knew immediately what that was for me and I haven’t had a drop of alcohol for 685 days now. Just change one thing, not everything.
Marci Shimoff has studied the Japanese and their process of Kaizen (as a footnote though it was an American Edward Deming who brought the concept to Japan after WW2). Typically it is the context of manufacturing, but can be applied to many disciplines. Shimoff wrote, “To make the quickest progress, you don’t have to take huge leaps. You just have to take baby steps—and keep on taking them. In Japan, they call this approach kaizen, which literally translates as “continual improvement.” Using kaizen, great and lasting success is achieved through small, consistent steps. It turns out that slow and steady is the best way to overcome your resistance to change.” Coach John Wooden on the subject: “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.” Think consistency over intensity. Think incrementally over quantum leaps. Think thin threads layered over many days. For today, you only need to change ONE thing, not everything.
