Health Blog

This month, we've been reading Dr. Robert Maurer's book, "One Small Step Can Change Your Life- The Kaizen Way".  Dr. Maurer is a psychologist who has devoted his career to studying successful change.  He's studied how people succeed in meeting their goals, and how they maintain success over time.  He talks about two ways people approach the desire to change- through innovation, vs. slow comfortable change in small steps.  Innovation involves radical, dramatic and sudden change- a shock to the system so to speak.  While innovation can work, the chances of it succeeding are quite low.  Alternatively kaizen, or change through small gradual steps, has a higher success rate for lasting results.  The reason for this is largely biological- tricking the brain to avoid a fearful response seems to really work!

In the first part of the book, Dr. Maurer explains how change causes fear in our brains.  I found this idea a little hard to believe- that stress, anxiety, depression, and a whole host of negative emotions are all rooted in the basic fear response.  But after understanding the clinical studies and behavioral examples in the book, I am starting to see how fear can paralyze us from getting what we want in many areas of our lives.  If that is true, then it makes sense that using techniques which avoid a biological response would be a good idea!  This is the reason kaizen works- taking small steps bypasses the amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for our fight or flight response.

The middle chapters start to outline how kaizen works, by "thinking small thoughts" and "taking small actions".  Dr. Maurer recommends we start by thinking small thoughts, asking playful questions about our goals.  For example, instead of asking "How could I be so stupid ?" or "Why does everyone else have an easier life than I do?" we should ask, "What is one thing I like about myself?" or "What is one thing I am thankful for in my life today?"  By asking positive, non threatening questions of ourselves, we bypass that automatic fear response.  Soon, our minds embrace the idea of change rather than resist it.  Similarly, taking small action steps, no  matter how ridiculous and ineffective they may seem, leads to bigger steps that do not elicit the fear response in us.  Even "unlearning" negative behaviors, such as overeating, smoking or any other addictive behavior, is possible by using kaizen.  I found Dr. Maurer's theory that we think of objects of addiction, such as cigarettes, as being our "friends" to be very interesting.  He describes the case of a woman who wanted to quit smoking, who first had to face her fear of losing the comfort of her tobacco "friends" and replace them with more appropriate types of comfort.

My favorite section so far is the New Year's resolutions- kaizen style !  I plan to take on several resolutions next year, and I plan to kaizen my way through them all to success. I've already by starting with my 5 minutes every day on the elliptical (yes, I've reached my goal every day this week!)  Now that Lumenos has launched the Healthier Holiday Recipe contest, maybe you can think of a recipe you can modify to take a small step toward a healthier change.

Next week, we will discuss chapters 5 and 6.  Have a great week!

Dell- a Lumen