The Art of Taking Action: Lessons from Japanese Psychology

Dr. Hans Selye, a leading authority on stress, provides reassurance

“kaizen.” It’s a generic Japanese word that means “improvement,” but is usually used to describe a program of organizational development that is based on “continuous improvement.”

And finally, when we are truly focused on effort, rather than outcomes, we find it easier to resist the temptation to abandon our integrity.

These other activities may require more effort, they may be less fun, and they may be more difficult or complex. But they may be more in line with some useful purpose. So perhaps it’s time to stop doing what you’re doing and start doing something else.

We live in a goal-oriented culture and we receive encouragement to identify goals, write them down, and work towards them. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, except that we can quickly find ourselves attached to the goals themselves, which are nearly always outcomes. And outcomes, in most cases, are uncontrollable. Finding a job, losing we

The Art of Taking Action isn’t simply about keeping busy or checking things off your to-do list. It’s about choosing what to do, how to do it, and the development of character.

“I should write a letter”—“I should reply to a letter.” If you think so, write immediately. You are not doing anything at the time but just think you will wait and do it later.

Sometimes what needs to be done is to take a bath, or play the piano, or go for a walk.

Morita’s work provides great relief as we begin to see these thoughts as happening to us, similar to the way rain falls or a gust of wind blows across the yard.

The most effective method we’ve found for self-reflection is called Naikan