The Very Least You Can Do

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What is the very least you can do?

For reals: what is the smallest possible action you can take as a self-improvement measure? 

Is it drinking a glass of water as soon as you wake up? Taking three deep breaths before responding to a question? Looking in the mirror and complimenting yourself? Or is it imagining yourself walking up the stairs without being winded?

If you’re here in this space of minding your daily practices, it’s likely because you’re looking to create more meaning, joy, or calm in this—your one wild and precious life. 

It’s hard. 

It’s hard because our lives are filled with things, so many things. Things rule our lives, and not just physical objects. Things we have to do, fill out, throw out, give out, submit, empty, exchange, inhabit, reply to, respond to, organize, reorganize, distribute, destroy, deliver, defer, deter, return, reorder, respect, inspect, ingest, eliminate, nurture, nourish and negate. To name a few. 

But it’s also hard because change is hard. Where do you start? How do you start? When? What if you sit down to start your masterpiece novel and can’t think of a single word? What if you maybe want to go to a gym and don’t know how to use any of the equipment? What if you want a new career—where do you even begin?

Between the things and the fears, it’s so very easy to convince ourselves that we don’t have resources to effect positive personal change.

Meet Kaizen, literally, “good change.” Simple change. Constant change.

Kaizen [kī-zn] is the art of creating continuous improvement in your life. It’s not about huge sweeping edicts and plans, but rather, always working towards improvement--even if it’s 1% or less.