Summary
You can choose who you want to be despite what other people have tried to make you or tell you that you are.
Elaine @thewebrecluse
December 6 2022 5:57pm
Recent events have me thinking about #hansei (反省) and #kaizen (改善) which is a subject I used to lecture on when I was teaching my media therapy class.
Han (反) means “change”, “to turn something over”, “to see something from a different perspective”, and Sei (省) means “to review”, “to examine yourself”. Kaizen (改善) is “improvement” or “change for the better” which is the inevitable outcome of properly done hansei.
Most, obviously, do not engage in these.
There are four steps to Hansei:
1. Recognizing that there is a problem.
2. Reflection, introspection, and assuming your responsibility.
3. Identifying the origin of the difference between what you tried to achieve and the real outcome.
4. Committing yourself to a series of changes in order to improve.
Hansei and Kaizen are often talked about in relation to successful business practices but have since been re-imagined to reflect necessary improvement of individual mental and physical health.
You don’t just do Hansei when something goes wrong. You should do it OFTEN to ensure that things DO NOT GO WRONG.
If you are constantly in a state of recognition, reflection, identification, commitment, and improvement then problems can be kept to a minimum if not 99% eliminated.
And performing Kaizen ensures that you become your best self in order to be the strongest and most improved self to benefit those around you in a positive way.
Kaizen is a much needed concept in Western thinking.
People need to improve themselves. Not just for their own reasons but also (and mainly) for the betterment of others. When we are at our best, we can give our best to others and improve their lives through that positivity and wellness.
Finding harmony through conformity and silence is the way of self-loss. The concept of harmony should come from the idea that we ourselves are balanced mentally, physically, and spiritually and that it will only benefit others for us to be that way.
