Improvement
im·prove·ment
Refusing to settle for 'good enough' when you know better is possible. Improvement is getting 1% better on purpose.
Another way of seeing it
Japanese craftspeople have a word, kaizen, for continuous improvement: small, steady refinements made every day. No dramatic overhaul. Just a little better than yesterday. Over a lifetime, those tiny adjustments become mastery.
In relationships
Stop waiting for the other person to change first. Improve your side of the relationship and watch what shifts.
In the ordinary day
Choose one small daily task and do it 1% better today: a tidier desk, a clearer email, a slower breath.
A question to sit with
Where are you settling for good enough?
Carry this with you
1% a day.
Where it comes from
From the Anglo-French emprouwer, to turn to profit. Improvement is making something a little better than it was.
Try this today
Make one thing one percent better.
Journal prompts for Improvement
- What am I better at than I was a year ago?
- What one small change would make the biggest difference?
- How can I improve without being hard on myself?
Did this word resonate with you today?
Know someone who might need this word?