There is No Destination

The Art of Kaizen

To give in to continuous improvement is to subscribe to there being no end.

- Abiola Okunsanya

I won't even pretend like I know much about the origins of this Japanese word, nor will I delve into the specifics of how the Japanese live. I'm just going to focus on the literal meaning of the word, which is "Continuous Improvement."

Kaizen is translated loosely to be "a resistance to the plateau of arrested development," promoting the idea that we must never give in to the lie that we are already there, we have already arrived, and we have developed all that we can.

I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but there is no destination. There must never be one. As long as we have productive juice left in us, there should never be a point where we set camp and say I am done. There should never be a point where we coast and say, "This is how much I can grow." To be efficient, to be among the best of the best, we must be given to continuous learning, continuous development, and continuous improvement.

---

The main point is, like the Japanese who have found a way to continue to push and expand the boundaries of manufacturing development through the art of Kaizen — the art of continuous improvement, we must also inculcate this habit if we ever want to be anywhere close to being among the legends.

We must maintain the persistent desire to be better than the last of us, to aim at doing better than we did yesterday, and to try again the next day, and the next day.

Never arrive. Always push the goalpost further and further. Even when you get to that peak where you have always targeted, set a new goal that will see you improve yourself, your skills, and the people around you. Never give in to arrested development when you still have productive juice left inside of you. There's a name for it, and it is called complacency.

However, I don't want you to take my word for it. In her book, Grit, Angela Duckworth emphasizes what Journalist Hester Lacey said of people who constantly want to be better, "It is a persistent desire to be better. It is the opposite of being complacent."

---

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying you should not be satisfied with what you have and where you are right now, but I'm saying, don't be too satisfied that you plateau and stay right there! Not when you have much more of yourself left to give. To be satisfied means that you are happy with what you have and are contented, but at this point, I'll quote a member of Emprinté Readers Hub, a book club I belong to.

You should be contented with what you have, but don't be contented in what you have.

- Victor Ayomide

One speaks of the appreciation of the things you have without necessarily seeking to acquire more than you already have because you have all you need. The latter, however, speaks of being. Don't be contented being fixed on one spot, believing you're perfect and can't grow anymore, especially when you still have strides to cover. That's not contentment. That's complacency. And complacency will quickly lead you to poverty.

You can be better than you are right now. You can be better than you would ever be at any given point. Give yourself to Continuous Improvement.

---

Some people will say, that if you're the best where you are, then you are in the wrong place, and while they are right, I will say as I wrap up, that if you are not better than you were yesterday, then you are doing the wrong things, you have plateaued, given in to complacency.

Have it in mind, that there is no destination, as long as you have life and you have productive juice inside of you. There are no destinations, only checkpoints. When you get to each checkpoint, rest, celebrate, rejuvenate, cry, sleep, then look on to the next checkpoint and continue your journey. Never make the mistake of arriving. Continue to improve.

I hope that by reading this newsletter, you commit yourself, that today, no matter what happens, you will add extra knowledge, learn an extra skill, build upon a good habit, and take at least one action. That you will do anything you need to do to be better than you were yesterday, and you will do it every day.

To your growth,

Your Coach,

Abiola Okunsanya,

Handzinspired. ✨