Kaizen. A Japanese concept meaning “change for the better” or “continuous improvement.”
I don’t know if there is a single source to credit the philosophy of 1% Better Everyday but the idea is captivating in its simplicity, in its contradiction to the go hard, get it now mindset.
It’s saying avoid the traps and pitfalls of the “extreme makeover” and “overnight success” mentality.
It’s a process for developing and fortifying strong, lasting habits.
It’s a mindset for growth, development and continuous, sustainable improvement.
It’s an attitude of humility and accepting development as a long-term, goal consisting of hard work and effort – not an easy, instant transformation and over-estimating our own capacity and ability.
It’s a way to take advantage of how our brain and habit formation works. Just 1% more allows for the new growth to become “old” habits, while taking on another 1% growth the next day.
1% can be anything, effort, time, speed, focus, intention, knowledge, skill, awareness, physical, mental, intellectual, emotional… pick any one to get 1% better at that day.
1% is compounding, it snowballs. Theoretically, the idea is that the 1% compounds everyday. That is 1% better everyday for a year, will end up being 37 times better.