Continuous Improvement Mindset: How to Win Day After Day

If you want to live a life of your choosing and one where you’re at the cause rather than the effect, you need to develop a continuous improvement mindset.

What does this mindset entail and why is it so necessary for self-improvement?

That’s what we’ll be getting into in this article.

But first:

I want you to picture this:

You’re on a trek up a mountain.

Somewhere during the trek, you got separated from your crew.

Disoriented, not able to find a way to climb up, you search for other openings in the mountain. It’s no use.

As you navigate around the mountain, you can’t find a way up…

Several days later…supplies have run out. Hope has run out.

You’re lying on your back dying from hunger and thirst at the bottom of this mountain.

Gazing up, you see the mountain peak far away in the heavens, where you know the rest of your squad is.

Your life begins to flicker through your eyes. All the goals…all the dreams…all the visions…

Pictures of home flood into your head. Mom. Dad. Grandpa. Big bro. Little sis. The homies. All of the people who ever cared about you fill your consciousness.

You could just drift away and let the cold mountain air take you and your soul to the ether.

But then there’s a tiny little light that sparks in you. The will to power. The will to survival.

It can’t end like this.

With one last effort, you start climbing the mountain.

Limbs ache. Mouth dry. Hunger relentless. But still you climb. Thoughts of giving up cross your mind many times but you realize that if you do, you will surely die.

One arm after another, one foot after another – you eventually reach the summit.

Your crew embraces you. The view? Euphoric. And of course – the food and water is unlike anything you’ve ever tasted or drank.

Beyond being a cute metaphor, this is pretty much what life is.

Life is one long, continuous effort to expand your horizons, your boundaries, and push against your so-called limitations.

This is where a continuous improvement mindset will help you do all of those things and more.

What is a Continuous Improvement Mindset (and Why Is It Necessary for Success)?

A continuous improvement mindset (often synonymous with a “growth mindset”) is a mindset and a state in which you are actively trying to get better day after day.

This continuous improvement often takes the form of getting better a little bit per day and eventually accumulating the pieces that form a fantastic whole.

Continuous improvement works off of the slight edge principle, which states that small daily actions compound over time to create an outcome.

Why Is It Necessary For Success?

It’s no secret we live in a dynamic world.

AI is rapidly transforming the workplace.

Many jobs that exist now didn’t exist half a century ago.

World population is currently at 8 billion, expected to hit 10 billion in 2050.

There’s a lot going on. And if you don’t in someway keep up with that “a lot going on”, you risk being swept away in this tidal wave of change.

Only a continuous improvement mindset where you are dedicated to growing and improving day by day is the only real way to survive and thrive now and in the future.

How to Develop a Continuous Improvement Mindset Via 3 Important Philosophies

“The reason that most people don’t possess these extraordinary physical capabilities isn’t because they don’t have the capacity for them, but rather because they’re satisfied to live in the comfortable rut of homeostasis and never do the work that is required to get out of it. They live in the world of “good enough.” The same thing is true for all the mental activities we engage in.” – Anders Ericsson, Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise

If you want to foster a continuous improvement mindset and use it to help you level up, here’s 3 things to think about and implement:

1. Practice the CANI Principle

CANI stands for “continuous and never-ending improvement”. It’s one of the most fundamental principles that help us learn and grow as human beings.

This is very similar to kaizen and the slight edge, but those are tactics. This is a philosophy.

Under the CANI principle, you build on previous skill and knowledge as you ascend towards mastery.

CANI is a philosophy that will ensure you can take advantage of things like kaizen and the slight edge.

To practice this, make a vow to yourself that you will be better than yesterday.

Then, start tracking your progress.

You can do this by keeping a dedicated tally of metrics, writing in a journal, or typing a daily progress sheet.

This is usually best done at the end of the day where you ask yourself questions like:

• What were my wins from today?
• How did I improve from yesterday?
• Where are some areas that I can improve in?
• How can I compound on those wins tomorrow?

You can come up with your own, but you want to create a successive period where you are tracking progress. In the middle of the thicket of change, it’s so easy to believe we aren’t getting anywhere, but if we have a track record of where we’ve been, it’s then easier to see how much we’ve evolved.

2. Build the Philosophy of “No Zero Days“

Another philosophy that will help you implement a continuous improvement mindset is that of no zero days.

The “No Zero Days” philosophy is a powerful approach to personal growth and productivity that emphasizes daily, consistent action towards your goals. It’s about ensuring that not a single day is wasted without progress, no matter how small the step may be.

This stacks with the CANI principle as it allows you to ensure that you take one successive step towards your goals no matter what that step may be.

This lines up with the saying “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

3. Understand No One Is Coming

This is probably the most important point to understand: no one is coming. What does this mean? It’s pretty simple.

No one is coming to fix your life.

No one is coming to pay your bills.

No one is coming to apply for a job for you.

No one is coming to start a business for you.

No one is coming to deliver a girlfriend to your front step.

No one is coming to help you sort out your depression or your anxiety.

No one is coming to push you up the mountain of self-actualization and your fullest potential.

All of these things are on you. You can have help, you can have assistance, but the main spark for any significant change will come from you.

Unless you truly understand this in your heart of hearts, you can read and watch all the self-improvement in the world but it still won’t help you.

Conclusion + Wrapping Up

Living with a mindset of continuous improvement is one of the most important things you can do to ramp up your self-improvement.

A continuous improvement mindset will help you stay competitive in our changing world.

A continuous improvement mindset will help you thrive and feel more fulfilled and derive more happiness from your life.

You do this by improving every day, never missing a day to improve, and realizing that the only person who can improve your life is you.

How have you developed a continuous improvement mindset in your life? Let me know in the comments.