One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way

If you continue to ask yourse lf this que stion ove r time , you’ll program your brain to
look for what’s good and right, and you may e ve ntually de cide to capitalize on the se shining aspe cts, pe rhaps with a ne w
marke ting campaign at work or ide as for family activitie s at home .

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CHAPTER THREE
Think Small Thoughts
The easy technique of mind sculpture uses “small thoughts” to help you develop new social, mental,
and even physical skills—just by 
imagining
 yourself performing them!
We are often told that the best way to make a change is feet first, plunging ahead in the hopes that
momentum will carry us past fear and resistance. In physical fitness, this idea takes the form of the
popular exhortation “Just do it!” In dating, networking, and giving presentations, we’re told, “Fake it till
you make it.” But imagine a shy person who tries to “fake it” by attending a cocktail party solo, giving air
kisses to strangers and pretending to feel confident and charming. That person is likely to find the
experience so excruciating that she goes straight home to bed with a headache, vowing never to do that
sort of thing again.
It may come as a relief to know that there’s a nearly painless way to train yourself to perform difficult
tasks, even those you think are unsuited to your nature and talents. This method, called 
mind sculpture,
can help you run a tough race, go out on blind dates, or talk to employees more effectively.
Mind sculpture takes advantage of cutting-edge neuroscience, which suggests that the brain learns best
not in large dramatic doses—
Just do it!—
but in very small increments, smaller than ever believed
possible.

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