As a New Year begins, many of us tend to make resolutions for ourselves, whether it’s losing weight, getting in better shape, or improving our overall health.

Unfortunately, most resolutions – however good-intentioned they may begin – don’t seem to last for very long. Our modern society, with a focus on quick fixes, immediate results, and instant gratification, makes it easy to fall back into old habits and patterns.

In the East, a different approach to self-improvement is taken. In fact, much could actually be learned from the Japanese manufacturing field where they used a concept known as kaizen to become world leaders in the automotive and electronics industries.

Rather than looking for huge breakthroughs and dramatic progress, kaizen is an approach to improving overall quality by making small, continuous improvements in day-to-day tasks. Over a period of time, these small, seemingly insignificant changes add up and the entire production line and final end product achieves a much higher level of quality.

A similar method can also be applied to our own health resolutions and help us reach our goals:

1. Small changes – although dramatic changes may seem more exciting, it’s the daily mundane details that usually have the greatest impact on us. Going for a 15 minute walk at lunch hour or doing some deep breathing for 5 minutes before sleep may not seem like much, but it’s small changes like these that can add up throughout the day.
2. Continuous improvement – once we’ve added a few good habits and made them a regular part of our daily lives, we can always look for a few more to add, being aware that trying to start too many at once can be overwhelming.
3. Long-term commitment – because smaller changes don’t tend to be as noticeable, we need to give ourselves time to see the results. Health problems rarely happen overnight – they usually develop over a period of time, and the same is true of good health.