Jam and how to spread it on with a small kaizen step
Kaizen Creativity Coaching is the process of deciding what you want to create - The Big Picture - then tiptoeing past the fight/flight mechanism that frequently kicks in when we want to do something different (this is fear/resistance dressed up in their best clothes) by taking very small continuous steps to take us closer to our big picture. We do it small!
Fear shows up when we want to change something, try something new or do something differently. Based on how the ancient brain was programmed as we grew up - our fears will generally revert back to that programming. (Think not good enough, perfectionism, procrastination, self sabotage blah blah blah!) The fear switch is tripped and we are flooded with overwhelm while the brain decides what to do, run or fight, and what do we end up doing? Not much,is the answer. We revert to our previous (subconscious beliefs) of overwhelm, perfectionism etc.
We consciously think things like 'What's the point it won't be any good anyway' or 'I'll just do this first and then I will do that' or we do things that will make us late, miss the interview, miss the post, or become ill in order not to do the thing we most want to do but can't do because fear is showing up!
Are you still with me!!!
Fear shows up when we want to change something, try something new or do something differently. Based on how the ancient brain was programmed as we grew up - our fears will generally revert back to that programming. (Think not good enough, perfectionism, procrastination, self sabotage blah blah blah!) The fear switch is tripped and we are flooded with overwhelm while the brain decides what to do, run or fight, and what do we end up doing? Not much,is the answer. We revert to our previous (subconscious beliefs) of overwhelm, perfectionism etc.
We consciously think things like 'What's the point it won't be any good anyway' or 'I'll just do this first and then I will do that' or we do things that will make us late, miss the interview, miss the post, or become ill in order not to do the thing we most want to do but can't do because fear is showing up!
Are you still with me!!!
Now for the good bit...
The small step solution
How do we get round it? Well we can keep the old devil part of our brain asleep. We can think very small thoughts, make mini observations, ask really small questions and take teeney tiny baby steps to creep around resistance and get on the path of action - in the smallest way possible. The brain loves small questions, it can't help but come up with an answer! If you can make those questions as small as possible without any attachment to the outcome - just ask and forget about it - I guarantee you, an answer will at some stage during the day or the night or even the next day if it has to dig deep, will appear and it will be the answer to your question.
Try this...what colour is the car parked four doors down from yours? Ask the question and forget about it. Wait and see what happens!
If you are really really struggling with resistance, and you know if you are, you can always try some JAM! Jam in this instance means Just A Minute - take just a minute and imagine yourself doing the smallest step possible towards your goal, dream, desire or thing you want to change. This is mind sculpting, deeper than visualization, you make it slow slow slow and feel, see, hear, and almost smell the small action.
For example if you want to paint a picture and just can't get started because you have no idea, the canvas is too big, you feel you'll be riduculed if it isn't perfect, or any other reason that stops you from picking up the brush. Apply mindsculpting jam. See yourself standing in front of the canvas, zone it down to a the point where you want to start, decide your opening colour, pick up the brush - what does it feel like in your hand, what does the paint look like, smell like, what sound does the brush make as it sweeps over the canvas.....if that is still bringing up resistance bring it down even smaller. Just imagine yourself imagining yourself painting - for just a minute.
If you can practice this small step of Kaizen - which means continuous improvements on a a really small step basis, you will be keeping resistance at bay and getting more confidence to take you closer to where you want to be in relation to your dream.
Try this...what colour is the car parked four doors down from yours? Ask the question and forget about it. Wait and see what happens!
If you are really really struggling with resistance, and you know if you are, you can always try some JAM! Jam in this instance means Just A Minute - take just a minute and imagine yourself doing the smallest step possible towards your goal, dream, desire or thing you want to change. This is mind sculpting, deeper than visualization, you make it slow slow slow and feel, see, hear, and almost smell the small action.
For example if you want to paint a picture and just can't get started because you have no idea, the canvas is too big, you feel you'll be riduculed if it isn't perfect, or any other reason that stops you from picking up the brush. Apply mindsculpting jam. See yourself standing in front of the canvas, zone it down to a the point where you want to start, decide your opening colour, pick up the brush - what does it feel like in your hand, what does the paint look like, smell like, what sound does the brush make as it sweeps over the canvas.....if that is still bringing up resistance bring it down even smaller. Just imagine yourself imagining yourself painting - for just a minute.
If you can practice this small step of Kaizen - which means continuous improvements on a a really small step basis, you will be keeping resistance at bay and getting more confidence to take you closer to where you want to be in relation to your dream.
Where you can apply Kaizen
(The secret is ...everywhere!)
You can apply the Kaizen method to anything you want to do in your life. Creative dreams, weight loss, reinventing yourself, a new challenge, hobby, a better business - the possibilities are endless. It just takes JAM - flavour it yourself!
You can read more about Kaizen and Creativity on my site www.acreativewoman.com or subscribe to my ezine Inspirational Soup where I discuss different uses of Kaizen in a very splendidly imperfect artistic manner - this satisfies the child in me as well as saying I don't care if my drawings are childlike!
Dr Robert Maurer (http://www.scienceofexcellence.com) explains this whole subject in much more detail in his excellent book Kaizen One small step can change your life and also by reading Jill Badonsky's Nine Muses and a bodyguard or visiting her site for Kaizen Coach Training (www.kaizentral.com)
I am always happy - ecstatic actually - to hear from people out there who would like to try out Kaizen Creativity Coaching for themselves. I offer a free half hour session without obligation to see where I could help you - it frequently turns into longer because there are so many great ways it can help you and I have to make sure I don't miss anything, in between listening to your needs!
If you are really busy, stressed or overwhelmed I offer twice a year, a place to escape on a gorgeous Greek island where we explore all kinds of self discovery, dreams, wishes, hopes, arty stuff, eat lots of yummy food, have beach bar b q's, wicked island tours and of course bring in the magical steps of Kaizen to help you make your dreams more real.
My alter ego Ms B. wears a suit and is a troubleshooter for business start-ups, small business solutions and mystery shopping on behalf of the business who is wondering where it's going wrong. And to think it all started with one small step - Kaizen is the only way for me!
Detta Darnell - The UK's first Kaizen Muse Creativity Coach. Writer. Would be artist. Business & Lifestyle Troubleshooter. Ice cream lover.
You can read more about Kaizen and Creativity on my site www.acreativewoman.com or subscribe to my ezine Inspirational Soup where I discuss different uses of Kaizen in a very splendidly imperfect artistic manner - this satisfies the child in me as well as saying I don't care if my drawings are childlike!
Dr Robert Maurer (http://www.scienceofexcellence.com) explains this whole subject in much more detail in his excellent book Kaizen One small step can change your life and also by reading Jill Badonsky's Nine Muses and a bodyguard or visiting her site for Kaizen Coach Training (www.kaizentral.com)
I am always happy - ecstatic actually - to hear from people out there who would like to try out Kaizen Creativity Coaching for themselves. I offer a free half hour session without obligation to see where I could help you - it frequently turns into longer because there are so many great ways it can help you and I have to make sure I don't miss anything, in between listening to your needs!
If you are really busy, stressed or overwhelmed I offer twice a year, a place to escape on a gorgeous Greek island where we explore all kinds of self discovery, dreams, wishes, hopes, arty stuff, eat lots of yummy food, have beach bar b q's, wicked island tours and of course bring in the magical steps of Kaizen to help you make your dreams more real.
My alter ego Ms B. wears a suit and is a troubleshooter for business start-ups, small business solutions and mystery shopping on behalf of the business who is wondering where it's going wrong. And to think it all started with one small step - Kaizen is the only way for me!
Detta Darnell - The UK's first Kaizen Muse Creativity Coach. Writer. Would be artist. Business & Lifestyle Troubleshooter. Ice cream lover.
Great Creativity Stuff on Amazon
Use the Muses in your small step creative process
Jilly Badonsky Kaizen Muse Creativity Coach Trainer and author leads us playfully through the Nines Muses and a Bodyguard to help us find the muse most suited to our immediate predicament. Get the muses on board and let them guide you through life's rocky roads with their effective creative styles of coaching!
The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard): 10 Guides to Creative Inspiration for Artists, Poets, Lovers and Other Mortals Wanting to Live a Dazzling Existence
Amazon Price: $16.15 (as of 07/05/2009) 
Great Small Step Stuff on Amazon
One of the best coaches around!
Bruce Elkin describes elegantly and easily how and why we do the same things over and over again even when we feel desperate to change them. In this life changing book he gives us the tools to live a more simple, less stressful, happier life using small incremental steps to help us reach our goals and dreams. He is a living embodiment of how the creative process works and how living authentically, simply and meaningfully can be the key to everlasting happiness.
Simplicity and Success: Creating the Life You Long For
Amazon Price: $19.50 (as of 07/05/2009)
Great Small Step Stuff on Amazon
Dr Robert Maurer explains the secret of Kaizen Small Steps
The secret of how our brains work for and against us are revealed in this life changing book from Dr Robert Maurer. Kaizen and how small thoughts, small observations, small questions and small actions can lead us out of overwhelm, procrastination, perfectionism and other stuff that keeps us stuck!
One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way
Amazon Price: $11.67 (as of 07/05/2009)
