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1. Problems First
Do you find it hard to feel satisfied with who you are and
what you've accomplished so far in life? If so, please consider
adopting the following perspective.
Toyota is one of the most successful auto makers on the planet.
A fact that's painfully obvious to its competitors.
There's a phrase used in Toyota that helps them stay focused
on striving to be the best they can be. The phrase is "Problems
First" and it leads them to look for what can be improved
upon in the future, rather than being satisfied with what they've
already accomplished.
Such a phrase could quickly lead one to feel negative and unappreciated
if not framed in the right context. At Toyota they have three
suppositions that help to flesh out their credo and give it
a positively oriented meaning:
1. The hard
work and good intentions of everyone in the company is highly
appreciated, and each and every worker is meant to be treated
with respect.
2. No matter
what stage of development they're currently involved in, they
realize the concepts of "success" and "achievement"
are "moving targets" that will change as the day
to day success and achievements of the company continue to
evolve.
3. They freely
acknowledge that everyone makes mistakes.
These suppositions extend up to the CEO, and
down to the person emptying the waste bins.
Once you really "get" these three suppositions, you
can stop trying to make believe you're "unnaturally perfect",
and instead, acknowledge and appreciate who you are.
Rather than striving to be perfect, at Toyota they share a
communal aspiration of "always being capable of improvement".
This is a goal everyone can approach every single day of their
life with humility and dignity. It's also a goal they'll never
be able to say they've fully accomplished, and that makes it
all the more fulfilling to pursue.
The quality of your life will significantly improve once the
"I have to be perfect." monkey is off your back. You'll
be free to ask for help, and no longer need to cover up your
mistakes and the imperfections you mistakenly perceive yourself
as having. Rather than yearning or pretending to be someone
else, you can free yourself to simply be perfectly imperfect
YOU! Isn't this the life you yearn to live?
At Toyota, instead of striving to achieve lofty yearly targets,
they prefer to set their sights on humble daily and monthly
goals they're likely to accomplish. They set "small"
goals that they regularly achieve, and build upon these small
successes the very next day. Rather than having their eye on
the future, they are focused on today. You can do the same in
your own life.
In actuality, if you look closely at what they're doing at
Toyota you'll understand that "Quality Control" and
"Improved Efficiency" are not really goals, but rather
idealistic pursuits with no beginning or ending. You never sit
back and bask in yesterday's achievements, as this would only
make you fall behind in reaching the goals you've set for today.
You don't try to improve because you think something is "wrong".
Instead, you strive to improve simply because you know improvement
is something you're capable of. Holding yourself to high standards
can be very gratifying when you start from a place of already
appreciating and respecting yourself and your accomplishments.
If you don't love yourself as you are now, then whatever form
of self improvement you undertake in the future you'll inevitably
miss the mark. You won't find long term fulfillment by striving
to be perfect and never making mistakes. You can though discover
a deep sense of satisfaction by striving day by day to fulfill
your infinite potential.
In the process, you'll find it paradoxically reassuring to
know you'll never achieve your goal!
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