by Coach Mike

When I was at a swim meet the other day, I saw a team’s shirt with an ancient Greek word άρετή, (Arete’) which means excellence or virtue; being the best one can be. My college coach loved this word for its philosophy and it sparked an idea to symbolize our team’s core covenants of FAMILY – DEDICATION – MENTAL TOUGHNESS. As the old saying goes a “symbol” speaks a thousand words.

Kaizen – Change Is Good

The Japanese word Kaizen came to mind to symbolize our core covenant of mental toughness. Mental toughness means so many things but at its core is the concept of adapting to change with no loss of enthusiasm. Kaizen is all about change, the practice of continuous improvement. One of the most notable features of kaizen is that big results come from many small changes accumulated over time. It is about aiming to find small changes or actions you can make starting today. This is the foundation for making habits stick.

Kaizen can be applied to almost anything we want to be better at in our lives. It goes from day to day actions, work/school environment, social relationship, and sports. It is about becoming a better version of you over time. Change in order to be more capable, efficient and successful in the things you do. This requires discipline, concentration, knowing your strengths and your weaknesses. Getting better at the sport you play requires following the kaizen philosophy and to be patient with yourself.

“Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender, it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment.” -Stephen Covey.

Kaizen teaches you to embrace the process of becoming an improved version of ourselves. The reason to this is motivation. Motivation comes:

• When you realize you can become better at what you do.
• When you are able to detect what you are doing wrong and identify what you need to do in order to fix it.
• When you start seeing the results and your body reacts differently to the same stimuli.

The good thing of kaizen in sports is that it allows motivation to stay because we are not perfect; we are all a work in progress. James Clear explains, “We place unnecessary stress on ourselves to lose weight or to succeed in business or to write a best selling novel. Instead, you can keep things simple and reduce stress by focusing on the daily process and sticking to your schedule, rather than worrying about the big, life changing goals. When you focus on the practice instead of the performance, you can enjoy the present moment and improve at the same time.”

There is no final destination on this journey, there is just improvement.

“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.” -Mike Murdock

We are lifelong learners who always have room for improvement. Embracing kaizen in your life it will never go away. It joins you through your training, diet, practices and everything you do. It becomes a dynamic part of your life because you will have it ingrained in your mind.

The general idea is to focus on consistent improvements in your life, every day, no matter how small the step you take to be a better you than you were yesterday. Kaizen is an amazing practice that yields extraordinary results with virtually no effort at all!

Why Kaizen Works

John Wooden stated “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 of the smallest step you can take every day that would move you incrementally towards your goal. This is a simple, practical way to achieve big goals but it feels less intimidating and more manageable. It might feel less exciting than chasing huge wins, but its results will be stronger and more sustainable.

A kaizen mindset turns a problem into an opportunity - we learn and become better. By focusing on continual improvement, we form a habit of asking why something didn’t work which leads us to discovering the root cause. When we reach out to others and seek their wisdom, we relinquish our pride and make greater gains of improvement. Taking critique is no longer personal but an opportunity for growth.

Keep your eyes out for the next one as I delve deeper into the symbols for FAMILY & DEDICATION.