Empowering you to lead a joyful and creative life

I just wrote an article for the ezine about Less is More.  I think it is really important to think about what you want less of so you can have more of what you want and need.

My husband and I went to Tokyo Joe’s, one of my favorite places for healthy, fast food, last month.  They always have something that impresses me in the way they run the business and in their philosophy that is refreshing.

They had a sign about Kaizen, which is a wonderful Japanese concept of small, continual improvements.  Kaizen is one of the foundations of my Kaizen-Muse coach training and my own personal philosophy.  It wasn’t the first time I had seen it mentioned in Tokyo Joes.  I was delighted to see that they had a 2010 Less is More 365 Days of Kaizen campaign.

Some of their sayings

Less Stress, More Laughter

Less Getting There, More Being There

Less TV, More Music

Less Greed, More Giving

Less Striving, More Celebrating

Check out Tokyo Joe’s web page where you can see the rest and add your own.

What do you want less of that will allow you time, money, or space for more of what you want?

As an addition to the series about 10 Reasons Not To Have What You Want or maybe it would be better named (too late!) 10 Reasons Why You Don’t Have What You Want, reason # 2 was You Can’t Afford It.

One of the ways we talked about changing that predicament is to Earn It.  And, of course there are a lot of ways to do that if you open up to the possibilities.  As discussed in that post, it might be part time, on the side, full time, etc.

I read a very appropriate post by Darren Rowse of ProBlogger called How To Make 30,000 a year Blogging.  He gives very good, practical advice for how to become a full time blogger.  He has built an amazing reputation by offering really great, non-hyped information about blogging and how to earn income from it.

In his article, I really like that he breaks things down and tells about how he started and gradually built things up.  And he also mentions how he started his first blog while still working.  So he didn’t start off by quitting his job then figuring out how to earn enough to get by.

He also talks about getting specific about how much you want and need to make.  If you start out with a target, you have a better chance of taking actions toward building that goal.

I purchased Darren’s 31 Days to Build A Better Blog e-book and love the straight forward explanations and great ideas from this seasoned professional.  I will admit that I have not had time to do everything yet since I’m in the middle of a big project of writing an e-book right now but I will definitely implement his strategies.

Also I like that there is something very doable and Kaizen (small gradual improvements) that you can do each day or you could take a longer time (like I am!) and still end up with a much better blog.

As a full disclosure, I have signed up as an affiliate for the book but as I’ve mentioned before, it is definitely not worth it to me to recommend anything I wouldn’t buy myself (and I did!).

I know there are several of you that could write about something you love and are passionate about.  This is not to say that it will be easy to develop a following.  It definitely will require work and some patience.  It is not a get rich quick scheme. But if there is something you have a passion for and would love to share, it can be a lot of fun.

Writers, Artists, Moms, Book Lovers, Jewelry Artists, Organizers, Quilters, Avid Readers, Photographers, Travelers, Bakers and People who love to cook,  are just a few of the topics that have fueled some successful blogs.  Julia and Julie is a movie about Julie Powell, a blogger who worked her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking cookbook!

There is probably a topic close to your heart that other people want to know more about.

I realize that it may seem out of reach when you see some of the super successful bloggers out there, and not everyone is going to be a millionaire, but what if you could earn enough to create more of the quality of life you want?  What if you could start something and build on your success one day at a time?

It’s just one of the many possibilities that might fit in with your personality and plans

Check out 31 Days To Build A Better Blog if you already have one or want to create one and start it out right.  It’s only 19.95, and is packed with valuable knowledge about blogging. And he is offering 3 special New Year bonuses that will only be available until Jan 18th – so don’t wait if you are interested!

Is there some bad habit that you want to quit but it seems to call you, lure you in, and then hold on tight while you feel powerless under its mighty grip?

There are so many things that can fit into that description like smoking, overeating, mindless TV, too much computer time, or too much of anything that feels like it controls you.

The other day, I was reading Ken Robert’s’ blog, Mildly Creative.  He spoke about being authentic which really resonated with me.  He also mentioned that he is trying to quit smoking.

I remember many years ago trying to quit smoking and how hard that was.   It took me at least 3 tries before it stuck.

I tried using the nicotine gum that was fairly new then.  Yuck.  At the time, it really made me want to quit chewing gum but I still wanted to smoke.   It took years before I could chew gum again.  I’m sure it’s improved since then.

I’ll give you some ways that you can try to break habit in a moment but first there has to be a reason for you to quit something.

It’s worth taking the time to write down a compelling reason of why you want to break a habit.    It’s not enough to make you stop wanting to do it but just saying, “I should” is enough to get your inner brat to say, “I don’t want to and you can’t make me.”

Maybe your compelling reason to is that you want to get healthy, or save money for a trip, live your dream, or spend more time with your family.

The more compelling, positive reasons you have, the more likely you are to continue making lasting changes. You may want to journal or find some images to remind you of your reasons.

Now, here are a couple of techniques you can try.   The first one works really well for some people and not for others.

Try to make something seem distasteful or undesirable.

Here is an example.  When I did finally quit smoking, one of my compelling reasons was how much money I would save if I didn’t smoke 2 packs a day.    So, maybe you could imagine that each time you smoked a cigarette; you are smoking a dollar bill or a twenty dollar bill.

This method also depends on what you are trying to quit.   If you are trying to lose weight, for example, you don’t want to make food seem “bad” or undesirable. Even dessert, because you’ll probably just want it more.  (See my Atkins example below).

My favorite method for breaking a bad habit is Kaizen.

Kaizen is a Japanese term for making small, gradual changes or improvements.

The beauty of Kaizen is that it doesn’t send your brain into a panic mode.  Trying to give up something, even if you really want to, is difficult when your brain is conditioned to do something.

With Kaizen, you choose a tiny step that feels absolutely possible.

We’ll stay with the example of quitting smoking. You might have ½ cigarette less for several days until you are ready to make another step.  If that seems too hard, you might try ¼ less of a cigarette.

When you try to quit something cold turkey (what a funny saying), sometimes all you can think about is the thing you aren’t supposed to have or do.

I remember going on the Atkins diet, and after a few days, I was craving and dreaming of corn and carrots. I wasn’t that happy to gnaw on another slab of meat. At first it sounded so great that I could eat all the bacon and cheese I wanted but then I was immediately craving vegetables. Now what’s wrong with that picture?

A Kaizen approach to dieting might start with throwing away your the first bite of dessert.  Waiting to leave the last bite may be too hard.

With Kaizen, you aren’t focusing on what you can’t do or have but instead making a small, doable, even trivial, step.

In Dr. Robert Maurer’s book, One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way , he gives the example of someone who wants to start exercising.

They began just marching in front of the TV for one minute a day.

It is basically saying a small yes rather than a big no.  And then your mind is more receptive to the next small yes.

Taking the next step might mean one less cigarette a day or two minutes of marching in front of the TV.

It has  to do with changing your thought process and creating new connections in your brain.  As your thinking changes, your emotional response changes, and in turn your actions change.

So, how long will I have to live to make a lasting change?

I know what you are probably thinking.   If I use this Kaizen method and make such small changes, I’ll be 150 years old before I change this bad habit.

When you are trying to make a change and get out of your comfortable patterns, your brain kicks into the fear response.  Kaizen cleverly tip toes past the fear, allowing your brain to make new pathways and gain access to your cortex, which is the rational and creative part of your brain.

The interesting part is that once the mind’s resistance is lessened, you can make much bigger steps with greater ease.

Try it and let me know what happens. What do you have to lose?

Feel free to add your ideas and comments below.