Don’t Overthink Your Life or Health

There’s an old saying in golf that applies to any of us: Don’t overthink your swing. The Kaizen method of continuous improvement calls for not overthinking your life. As a reward, you can be healthier after just a few days of “small thoughts.” Kaizen devotees know it as visualization or mind sculpture. You imagine yourself in a situation of wellness success—less junk-food eating, more exercise, sounder and longer sleep, increased time with loved ones. You put yourself in that scene by creating sensory experiences of what you might feel, taste, smell (breathe in that fresh air), see (a person you admire in the mirror) or hear (“you look great!”), and it works! Keep reading for more insights into this powerful Kaizen visualization practice. . .


Visualization is a sort of purposeful daydream and quite powerful as a health habit changers. Mind sculpture, a term created by author and psychologist Ian Robertson who wrote a book by the same name, takes the visualization one step further. He calls for pretending to be fully engaged in the visualized activity. It might be feeling the muscles exerted during movement (maybe a dance class or that long run eluding you during the work week). Or it could be the happy surge when anticipating a great outing with friends or the quiet calm you experience after shared prayers.

What Robertson has found is research shows brain chemistry changes within minutes of “practicing” a task mentally. One study showed volunteers who practiced a one-handed piano exercise two hours a day over a short but intense period of weeks were no more skilled at the musical feat than subjects who only practiced the exercise mentally and without touching a single piano key.

An important point here: Put details into your visualization or mind sculpture. It will lead you to keep your thoughts small and vibrant, rather than huge and unwieldy. If you want imagine a better day with your child, see the smile on her face when you talk about a favorite topic of her choosing or enjoy just being in the same room with a teen son who has been distant lately.

Work stressing you out? Visualize what you and co-workers might say at a meeting that is short and productive. Write the dialogue in your mind. Sculpt the way you see as most pleasing. One technique is to mentally make the assumption you cannot fail or, say, lose your job. With that safety net, what would you do? It might very well be just what your co-workers are thinking too.

In his book, “One Small Step Can Change Your Life,” author and psychologist Robert Maurer places a sensible commitment in front of his reasons. It is a perfect example on kaizen and not overthinking: “Decide how many seconds you are willing to devote to mind sculpture each day. Make sure you allot seconds, not minutes or hours. The time commitment should be so low that you can easily fulfill its requirements every single day. Repetition is important.”

Bob Condor blogs for Insider's Health every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.