There are times when big changes work really well. Something happens when we are at a point in our lives that we are ready to commit to the change that needs to happen. Our minds go into overdrive, and we are able to accomplish what seemed impossible to us the day before yesterday. No matter what, we are there. And when we are in overdrive, the big change happens.

Then there are the other times. When attempting to make a big change or two, it seems like we have bitten off more than we can handle chewing. We try to summon the mind over matter attitude that worked before. Pep talk after pep talk occurs. We make promises to ourselves and maybe even an ultimatum or two. All too often when we have tried the big change, and things haven't worked out well, we walk away from the problem feeling a total failure.

There is another way. It is a Japanese Management Principle called Kaizen. In Japanese the word “Kaizen” means “improvement” or “change for the better,” and refers to the philosophy of focusing on continuous, sustainable improvement.

The principle also works in your personal life. Let's say someone wants to stop smoking, start exercising daily, eat a more balanced diet, and be on time for all appointments. When we approach life and make small sustainable changes, we are most often able to carry them out in such a way that we will be able to sustain those changes over time. We break the huge changes into small, sustainable, easier to manage steps.

Let's look at trying to stop smoking. There are all kinds of smaller steps that could happen that could help us succeed.

• We might visit a doctor and find out if our insurance covers any smoking cessation aids.
• We might take a day and see if there are any smoking cessation programs that might help.
• We could cut down one cigarette a day, maintain that for a week or two, then cut back one more.
• We could delay smoking each cigarette by 15 minutes.
• We could decide if we wanted to try chewing gum instead.
• We might try to get a friend to buddy up with us, and both of us try to stop smoking at the same time.
• We might arrange to call a friend when stressed, and try to talk first before we smoke a cigarette.

We can plan out how we want the small changes to occur and then start. Deciding to start a change is usually the first step. It helps to change our attitude. When we start to see how something can happen, we have a better chance of succeeding. It is important when we want to change something that we be able to see ourselves as successful at the end. While a thought that is this positive might not be available to us at the beginning, we may become better able to see the possibility as a reality somewhere down the path.

Let's look at eating more healthily. We can choose to try to change everything all at once. That may mean something like: no chocolate, no ice cream, no caffeine, no white breads, portion control, eating little but rabbit food, no red meats, etc. When we try to change everything all at once in this fashion (like with a New Year’s resolution), we may become overwhelmed and set ourselves up for failure.

Instead of trying everything all at once, we can start with one change at a time. In the first week we can make one small change, then the next week we can make a second small change. The changes are cumulative. They build up as one goes along.

• I will eat 2 helpings of vegetables (or 2 more helpings of vegetables) today.
• I will eat 1 meatless meal this week.
• I will eat foods from home one day a week.
• When Sue and I cook together this week, we will make one healthy food, and we can each have leftovers to take home and use.
• I will eat one food that is locally grown.
• When I cook, I will use cooking spray instead of butter or oil.
• I will replace my white bread with whole grain.

Then you can decide what you would like to tackle first. After you make the one change, you can decide if it worked for you or not. If it didn't, you could choose to go back to the way things were before, and try something different or you could choose to make a tweak or two and try your small change again.

Taking small steps towards continuous improvement gives us the opportunity to be successful, one small step at a time. Another way of putting it is: Life is a cinch by the inch, but by the yard it is hard. Or how do you eat an elephant? ... one bite at a time.