By Helen Noronha | Uplift
The One-Minute Principle For Self-Improvement
“At the heart of this method is the idea that a person should practice doing something for a single minute, every day at the same time.”
Almost all of us periodically set ourselves a new goal or challenge — and just as often, in the end, we fail to achieve it. We end up telling ourselves that we’re just not ready yet, that we’ll do it next week, next month…next year.
We might even pursue them with zeal at the start. But once we’ve made a small amount of effort, we’ll tell ourselves we’ve done enough, and it’s time to take this whole “starting a new life” thing more slowly.
Why does it always turn out like this? The answer’s fairly obvious: because we try to achieve too much, too fast, we get sick of the new responsibility and because it’s difficult to change old habits and try something new.
Just One Minute A Day
In Japanese culture, there exists the practice of Kaizen, which includes the idea of the “one-minute principle” for self-improvement. At the heart of this method is the idea that a person should practice doing something for a single minute, every day at the same time.
You can’t do Kaizen just once or twice and expect immediate results. You have to be in it for the long haul. — Masaaki Imai
Clearly, it shouldn’t be any trouble for absolutely anyone — even the laziest person — to carry out a given task for such a small amount of time. Whereas you will more often than not find an excuse not to do something when faced with carrying it out for 30 minutes or an hour a day, you should be able to do it without any misgivings for just 60 seconds.
The Pursuit of Continuous Improvement
Whether it’s doing press-ups or reading a book in a foreign language, in this case, the task before you won’t seem like something unpleasant which you have to get through, but will instead be an activity which brings you joy and satisfaction. By taking one little step at a time, you will move on to the path of self-perfection and achieve great results.
When you’re inspired by such feelings, you will gradually begin to increase the amount of time you spend doing the task which you have set yourself.
It’s important to overcome that lack of confidence you might have in your own abilities, as well as free yourself from those feelings of guilt and helplessness.
