TMS recovery & overcoming fear using the Japanese philosophy of kaizen - an article & a book

I recently read an article that talks about using the Japanese philosophy of taking 'baby steps', which is called 'kaizen', to overcome fear.

Those who know me on this forum are aware of my story from my forum postings (I haven't written a success story on the success story subforum - yet - but I'm getting there!). I have gone from bedridden and housebound with mind/body/TMS symptoms to now functioning pretty well by comparison, and I have achieved this by taking a 'baby steps' approach. For those who don't know me this is a posting I recently made that gives the gist of my journey of continuing recovery: https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/advice-appreciated.30099/#post-161478

In taking 'baby steps' I had no idea that I was achieving profound improvement the Japanese way! (I took 'baby steps' because that was all I could do in my particular circumstances, and I just slowly added to them day by day, very gradually increasing what I can do.)

This is the aforementioned article about fear (generally, not specifically with regard to mind/body/TMS symptoms, but imo the article is relevant because, well, fear is fear) and overcoming it with kaizen: https://tinybuddha.com/blog/overcome-fear-live-dream-changing-brain/

And this is a link to a summary of/from a book called 'One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way' by Robert Maurer Ph.D., that tells you all about kaizen:https://bookfulbites.com/2020/03/24...the-kaizen-way-by-robert-maurer-book-summary/ (The book mentions that, although the Japanese have embraced taking 'baby steps' for achieving major things and given it a special name, the original idea actually came from America in the early to mid 1940s.)

So, anyway, I just thought I'd post up about it, in case anyone may be interested in taking this approach. I wish I hadn't waited so long to start doing it, but then nobody told me about a 'baby steps' way to recover, I had to discover it for myself. It was the only way I could follow Dr Sarno's advice to get on with normal life (despite my horrendous symptoms). If it's taking you a long time and so you're struggling to lose your mind/body/TMS symptoms anyway, I proffer that you've got nothing to lose in embarking on the 'scenic route', so to speak (except your fear and symptoms!)

Here are some quotations from the aforementioned book (of note is that kaizen also involves the asking of small questions to dispel fear and make progress):

"When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur. When you improve conditioning a little each day, eventually you have a big improvement in conditioning. Not tomorrow, not the next day, but eventually a big gain is made. Don’t look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That’s the only way it happens—and when it happens, it lasts." — John Wooden

"Low-key change helps the human mind circumnavigate the fear that blocks success." — Robert Maurer Ph.D.

"Accomplish the great task by a series of small acts." —Tao Te Ching

"Small actions trick the brain into thinking: Hey, this change is so tiny that it's no big deal. No need to get worked up. No risk of failure or unhappiness here." — Robert Maurer Ph.D.

"Instead of aggressively forcing yourself into a boot-camp mentality about change, give your mind permission to make the leaps on its own schedule, in its own time." — Robert Maurer Ph.D.

"Large goal ➞ fear ➞ access to cortex restricted ➞ failure. Small goal ➞ fear bypassed ➞ cortex engaged ➞ success." — Robert Maurer Ph.D.

“Small questions… gently prod the brain to contemplate change without dreading it.” — Robert Maurer Ph.D.

“By asking small questions, you calmly reprogram your brain to overcome fear and take creative action.” — Robert Maurer Ph.D.

"Instead of grand questions, ask “What small thing can I do today to improve my health?” This makes the brain more receptive."" — Robert Maurer Ph.D.

"Don’t give up! Instead, try scaling back the size of your steps." — Robert Maurer Ph.D.

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with the first step.” — Lao Tzu