# One Small Step Can Change Your Life
## Metadata
- Author: [[Robert Maurer]]
- Full Title: One Small Step Can Change Your Life
- Category: #books
## Highlights
- kaizen: using small steps to accomplish large goals. ([Location 35](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=35))
- Simply standing from a sitting position doubles your metabolic rate. ([Location 51](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=51))
- Kaizen is as much a philosophy or belief system as it is a strategy for success ([Location 92](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=92))
- service and gratitude. ([Location 94](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=94))
- lowering cost, increasing quality, and always—I repeat, always—in the service of the customer. ([Location 101](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=101))
- Kaizen demands that every small change be to the benefit of the customer. ([Location 105](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=105))
- How do people succeed? How do successful people stay successful? ([Location 137](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=137))
- innovation. ([Location 165](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=165))
- I applaud innovation as a way to make changes . . . when it works. ([Location 180](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=180))
- There is an alternative to innovation. ([Location 189](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=189))
- This alternative strategy for change is called kaizen. ([Location 192](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=192))
- “continuous improvement.” ([Location 203](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=203))
- “What else can I do in one minute a day?” ([Location 259](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=259))
- few seconds each day imagining the details of a dream job. ([Location 265](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=265))
- low-key change helps the human mind circumnavigate the fear that blocks success and creativity. ([Location 269](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=269))
- Often, people find that their minds develop a desire for this new behavior, ([Location 272](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=272))
- for now, all you need to do is take one small step. ([Location 297](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=297))
- develop harmony among these different brains ([Location 308](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=308))
- When we want to make a change, or jump-start the creative process, we need access to the cortex. ([Location 315](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=315))
- ashamed to have disobeyed the doctor’s instructions, ([Location 338](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=338))
- you can use kaizen to go around or under these fears. ([Location 349](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=349))
- Note: Seems like Morita therapy.
- enjoying the change. ([Location 355](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=355))
- “fear is an important factor in any creative work.” ([Location 370](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=370))
- We may not even be aware of the exaggerated, desperate measures we take to get rid of fear. ([Location 384](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=384))
- if you expect fear, you can approach it in a compassionate manner. ([Location 397](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=397))
- fear can cause you unconsciously to sabotage your best intentions. ([Location 401](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=401))
- Conflict is a condition of being human; ([Location 403](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=403))
- fear is the body’s gift, alerting us to a challenge. ([Location 405](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=405))
- acknowledge the fear and its effects on us. ([Location 409](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=409))
- pose kaizen questions ([Location 465](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=465))
- Your brain loves questions ([Location 481](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=481))
- unless the question is so big it triggers fear. ([Location 481](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=481))
- self-protective lockdown in times of danger—here ([Location 486](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=486))
- the mere act of posing the same question on a regular basis and waiting patiently for an answer mobilizes the cortex. ([Location 493](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=493))
- uses small questions when he sits down to write his novels. ([Location 508](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=508))
- launch the imaginative process simply by asking yourself a small question. ([Location 523](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=523))
- Fears tend to sort themselves into two major categories: the fear of not being worthy (I don’t deserve it) and the fear of losing control (What if I like him and he leaves me?). ([Location 535](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=535))
- writing their answers down in a journal or leaving messages on their own answering machines. ([Location 586](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=586))
- Questioning others may also help when you have trouble pinpointing your own needs. ([Location 624](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=624))
- hope you’ll build the kaizen habit of asking yourself small (and positive!) questions. ([Location 635](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=635))
- kaizen habit of asking yourself small questions. ([Location 642](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=642))
- If I were guaranteed not to fail, what would I be doing differently? ([Location 648](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=648))
- What is one small step I could take toward reaching my goal? ([Location 652](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=652))
- What is one small step I could take to improve my health (or relationships, or career, or any other area)? ([Location 657](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=657))
- Is there a person at work or in my personal life whose voice and input I haven’t heard in a long time? What small question could I ask this person? ([Location 660](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=660))
- What’s one good thing about this person? ([Location 663](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=663))
- What is one small thing that is special about me ([Location 665](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=665))
- there’s a nearly painless way to train yourself to perform difficult tasks, ([Location 676](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=676))
- guided imagery, ([Location 681](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=681))
- Mind sculpture, developed by Ian Robertson, ([Location 686](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=686))
- Isolate a task ([Location 766](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=766))
- Decide how many seconds you’re willing to devote to mind sculpture for this task each day. ([Location 767](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=767))
- sit or lie down in a quiet, comfortable spot and close your eyes. ([Location 771](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=771))
- Imagine that you are in the difficult or uncomfortable situation ([Location 771](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=771))
- expand your imagination to the rest of your senses. ([Location 773](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=773))
- imagine that you are performing the task. ([Location 774](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=774))
- Imagine a positive response to your activity. ([Location 776](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=776))
- Never force the process of kaizen; ([Location 779](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=779))
- Once you feel comfortable using mind sculpture ([Location 783](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=783))
- When you feel ready to take on the actual task, try out some small steps at first. ([Location 786](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=786))
- spend fifteen seconds each day simply imagining that you are eating—and enjoying!—some broccoli. ([Location 791](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=791))
- mind sculpture can be used at any stage in a program for change. ([Location 794](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=794))
- Small questions are a powerful way to generate ideas for mind sculpture. ([Location 798](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=798))
- Small actions form the basis of most kaizen programs for change, ([Location 821](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=821))
- since this is kaizen, your first actions will be very small ones—so ([Location 824](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=824))
- Kaizen steps may be small, but they can often lead to rapid change. ([Location 887](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=887))
- floss one tooth a day. ([Location 934](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=934))
- Isn’t slow change better than what I’ve experienced before . . . which is no change at all? ([Location 958](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=958))
- spend just two minutes filing papers ([Location 1090](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=1090))
- maybe just file even one ([Location 1090](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=1090))
- paper, ([Location 1091](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=1091))
- Focusing on the small mistakes now can save us years of costly corrections. ([Location 1133](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=1133))
- the assumption that anything that can go wrong, will. ([Location 1163](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=1163))
- Angry or critical self-talk. ([Location 1237](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=1237))
- daily listing of the chores ([Location 1317](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=1317))
- small rewards are the perfect encouragement. ([Location 1329](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=1329))
- many great moments of progress come out of a workaday attention to the little things. ([Location 1453](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=1453))
- find one moment each day when he enjoyed his police work. ([Location 1477](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=1477))
- focus on the moments of change that bring you pleasure. ([Location 1485](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=1485))
- in the successful relationships, positive attention outweighed negative on a daily basis by a factor of five to one. ([Location 1507](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=1507))
- It took the form of small gestures, ([Location 1509](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=1509))
- Instead of aggressively forcing yourself into a boot-camp mentality about change, give your mind permission to make the leaps on its own schedule, in its own time. ([Location 1558](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=1558))
- Try to see kaizen as a process that is never done. ([Location 1560](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=1560))
- What more important task does this life hold than to draw out the possibility in each moment? ([Location 1577](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B00GU2RHCG&location=1577))