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Mojo Monday - Beyond Productivity: The Kaizen Mindset with Carly Taylor · Hardiness with Dr Paul Taylor

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to Mojo Monday. I'm Carl Taylor, and
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  Speaker 1: today we're going to dive into the Japanese philosophy of kaizan. Now,
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  Speaker 1: many of you may be familiar with kaizan, but I
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  Speaker 1: will say that this podcast may change your approach to kaizan,
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  Speaker 1: and you will find out why as we go on.
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  Speaker 1: But before we get into it, if you're anything like me,
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  Speaker 1: you might have a big dream or a goal that
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  Speaker 1: feels so huge and so daunting that you just avoid
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  Speaker 1: it altogether. It's like there's this invisible barrier between you
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  Speaker 1: and getting started. It's like a wall built from fear
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  Speaker 1: or procrastination. And kaisan is an approach to gently breakdown
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  Speaker 1: that wall without getting overwhelmed by it. So what is kaizan?
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  Speaker 1: So most people have heard of kaizan as continuous improvement,
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  Speaker 1: and it's a framework that's been popularized by Toyota for
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  Speaker 1: productivity and processes. But through my study of Japanese psychology,
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  Speaker 1: I've learnt that much like the word iki guy, which
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  Speaker 1: I have spoken about before, Japanese words and phrases often
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  Speaker 1: have this deeper meaning than what our Western interpretation is.
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  Speaker 1: And this s applies to kaizan. So this is why
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  Speaker 1: I have discovered the true meaning of kaizan isn't just
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  Speaker 1: about continuous improvement. While it's been used effectively in business,
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  Speaker 1: Kaisan's actually very deeply personal. It's a mindset that we
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  Speaker 1: can all tap into. And this caught my attention because
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  Speaker 1: anything related to understanding and strengthening the mind is very
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  Speaker 1: much my passion. So kaisan is made up of two
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  Speaker 1: Japanese words, Kai, meaning change, and zen meaning good, So
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  Speaker 1: at its simplest, kaizan translates to good change. But it
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  Speaker 1: goes even deeper than this. So in Japanese, each character
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  Speaker 1: can be broken down into these smaller components, each with
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  Speaker 1: its own meaning. Kai is made up of two symbols,
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  Speaker 1: one meaning self and the other actually represents a whip,
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  Speaker 1: and it's a visual so if you saw the characters,
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  Speaker 1: you can kind of make out that it looks like
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  Speaker 1: somebody whipping themselves on the back. So this may sound
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  Speaker 1: a bit weird and intense, but what it really signifies
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  Speaker 1: is that, or what it's really about, is self discipline.
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  Speaker 1: It's this idea that change starts with you and it's
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  Speaker 1: up to you to take charge of your your own
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  Speaker 1: growth and then zen, which we know there's zen Buddhism,
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  Speaker 1: but this zen actually has a different meaning, and it's
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  Speaker 1: made up of two symbols as well, and this is
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  Speaker 1: even a bit stranger. One is sheep and the other
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  Speaker 1: is old, so together it suggests sacrifice, but it's a
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  Speaker 1: sacrifice for the greater good. So this brings us to
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  Speaker 1: the question of how do we develop this kaisan mindset?
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  Speaker 1: How do we find the discipline to make the changes
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  Speaker 1: that we need and to make the sacrifices for our
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  Speaker 1: own growth. And this is where intention comes in. In Japanese,
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  Speaker 1: the word for intention is shiko, and when you break
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  Speaker 1: that down, it means heart and direction. I love that
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  Speaker 1: to live with intention is to follow your heart, to
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  Speaker 1: align your actions with what truly matters to you. For me,
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  Speaker 1: this means that kaizan is about personal responsibility. It's up
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  Speaker 1: to you to do the work, to make the sacrifices
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  Speaker 1: in pursuit of what truly matters to you or for
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  Speaker 1: the greater good. And so while kaizan is often used
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  Speaker 1: in business and processes, we can apply this mindset on
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  Speaker 1: a personal level, and that's when intention comes in. Living
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  Speaker 1: with intention, following your heart and aligning your daily actions
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  Speaker 1: with your purpose. So in order to achieve Kaizan, you
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  Speaker 1: really have to connect with your purpose. It's not just
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  Speaker 1: about goals, it's about your why, knowing what's deeply important
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  Speaker 1: to you. What sacrifices are you willing to make to
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  Speaker 1: live intentionally and with purpose. And these sacrifices aren't just
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  Speaker 1: the external sacrifices like skipping that third glass of wine,
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  Speaker 1: but also the internal sacrifices dealing with the discomfort that
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  Speaker 1: comes with change. So Kaisan goes beyond just taking small steps.
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  Speaker 1: It's about how you show up, how you spend your time,
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  Speaker 1: and how you use your purpose as a compass to
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  Speaker 1: move forward and grow. And a really effective tool that
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  Speaker 1: you can use to help you live with a Kaisan
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  Speaker 1: mindset is a ritual board. So to create your own
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  Speaker 1: ritual board, you start by drawing a table. So you
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  Speaker 1: can use a whiteboard, or you can put it up
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  Speaker 1: on your computer or a piece of paper, or you
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  Speaker 1: can even get a whiteboard marker and put it on
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  Speaker 1: your bathroom mirror. Whatever works for you as long as
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  Speaker 1: you can see it every single day. So across the
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  Speaker 1: top of the ritual board you write the days of
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  Speaker 1: the week, just the first letters fine, and then down
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  Speaker 1: the side you're going to list all your actions or
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  Speaker 1: your behaviors, or what we're calling rituals that you're going
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  Speaker 1: to commit to each day. At the very top of
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  Speaker 1: the table, write down your purpose. This is your why.
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  Speaker 1: Now this is different to a goal. Your why is
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  Speaker 1: your north star, the thing that keeps you heading in
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  Speaker 1: the right direction. So, for example, why do you want
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  Speaker 1: to make these changes? Do you want to be a
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  Speaker 1: good example for your kids? Do you want to make
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  Speaker 1: a difference in your little corner of the world. Do
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  Speaker 1: you want to live authentically? So think about your daily
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  Speaker 1: habits now do they align with this purpose? What do
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  Speaker 1: you need to start to do every day that moves
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  Speaker 1: you towards your north star? What sacrifices are you willing
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  Speaker 1: to make to do this? Write these down in the
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  Speaker 1: left hand column. It's not a to do list, it's
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  Speaker 1: daily rituals. So they can include, for example, the fundamentals
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  Speaker 1: of health. These are your non negotiables because when you
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  Speaker 1: are fit and healthy, you have the energy and the
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  Speaker 1: focus to pursue your goals. The fundamentals are like setting
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  Speaker 1: that foundation. So for example, on my ritual board, I
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  Speaker 1: have a cold shower, so I'm sacrificing comfort there. Cold
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  Speaker 1: showers can be really hard, especially in the middle of winter,
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  Speaker 1: so there's a sacrifice there. Eighty twenty days, so eighty
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  Speaker 1: percent of my food is real whole foods and twenty
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  Speaker 1: percent is my treat So I'm trading off one thing
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  Speaker 1: for another, or maybe I've got an urge to have,
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  Speaker 1: you know, that extra piece of chocolate, so I'm making
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  Speaker 1: that sacrifice. I do CrossFit three times a week, so
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  Speaker 1: I can tick that off, and let's face it, CrossFit
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  Speaker 1: is hard. I do yoga. I have alcohol free days,
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  Speaker 1: so you get what I mean. So you put those
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  Speaker 1: down on the left hand side, and then you can
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  Speaker 1: add small rituals relating to other areas of your life.
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  Speaker 1: So it could be connecting with others, you know, making
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  Speaker 1: sure you phone your mum and your dad once a week,
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  Speaker 1: or honoring a boundary that you've set around time, or
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  Speaker 1: including deep work time with no distractions, which always helps
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  Speaker 1: you move towards what you want to achieve on a
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  Speaker 1: business level. So that's the ritual board. But I also
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  Speaker 1: encourage my clients to journal each day, and this is
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  Speaker 1: to develop their self awareness. It's to increase that self awareness.
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  Speaker 1: Notice their thinking, notice the habits that they're doing currently doing,
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  Speaker 1: and helps them to live intentionally. So if you've got
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  Speaker 1: this dream like I do, and it's aligned with your purpose,
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  Speaker 1: write that dream and purpose in your journal every day
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  Speaker 1: and accept the inner struggle that often comes with it,
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  Speaker 1: because achieving any dream isn't easy, and have the discipline
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  Speaker 1: to do something each day. Tick those rituals off that
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  Speaker 1: moves you towards that dream. So KI is more than
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  Speaker 1: just productivity and processes. It's about personal growth. It's about
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  Speaker 1: acceptance and having the courage to show up every day.
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  Speaker 1: So I hope this has been helpful. I encourage everyone
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  Speaker 1: to have a ritual board. We've found that it really
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  Speaker 1: helps you keep accountable as well. Just having those ticks
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  Speaker 1: every single day, you get that little dopamine hit and
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  Speaker 1: it's a little push for motivation. So thank you for
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  Speaker 1: joining me, and have a great week and I will
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  Speaker 1: see you next week.