Do you live in The Gap or The Gain?
The Momentum Files #14
Successful people focus on The Ga…
When toddlers take their very first steps, what’s a proud parent more likely to say?
🅰️ “Yaaay! You did it! So proud of you!” (… followed by enthusiastic hugs and kisses!)
🅱️ “Yeah, that’s great, kiddo, but can you run a marathon?”
Big surprise – it’s A.
And here’s a Q for you.
Why is it so hard to celebrate your own small steps? Your adult wins and achievements?
The most successful and high-achieving people know how to recognize their forward steps toward their ultimate goals – their ideals – and they use this ability to stay happy, motivated and confident along the way.
They know the difference between The Gap and The Gain.
And they focus on The Gain.
I’m reading The Gap and The Gain – a powerful and practical eye-opener written by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy.
It’s all about how you set yourself up for success by measuring yourself – and your accomplishments – against the *right* things.
You have your Start, your Goal and your Ideal.
Your Start is simply your starting point. It’s where you are right now – or where you were when you started your journey toward your Ideal (what you want to accomplish and where you want to end up).
Your Goal (I think of this as your Achievement) is what you plan to accomplish - and what you’ve accomplished already.
Your Ideal is that magical place you’re trying to get to. The end game. It’s where you want to go – where you want to be – and it’s where things are exactly how you want them. It sounds a lot like perfection, so that tells you that your ideal might stay just out of reach - shifting and transforming as you experience personal and professional growth. It’s a bit like that enticing, shimmering mirage that gets fuzzier the closer you get to it.
When you measure yourself against your Ideal (comparing your goals/achievements to where you want to end up), you’re stuck living in The Gap. In this energy-zapping place, you’ll never feel good enough, able enough, smart enough or successful enough.
Gap Example: You want to lose 25 pounds (your Ideal). You’ve lost 5 (your Goal along the way).
Gap Mindset: I’ve lost 5 pounds, but I want to lose 25 pounds. I have 20 pounds more to go. Twenty! I’ve barely made a dent! I’ll never get there. This is pointless.
But …
When you measure yourself against who you were at the start (comparing the person you were when you set and committed to your Goals to who you are now that you’ve achieved some of your Goals) - you can thrive in The Gain.
Gain Example: You want to lose 25 pounds (your Ideal). You’ve lost 5 (your Goal along the way).
Gain Mindset: I’ve made life changes, and I’m already seeing results! I now walk a mile every day. I’m eating healthier. I’m finally drinking enough water. And I’ve lost 5 pounds!
Feel the difference? Acknowledging your accomplishment – even those first steps – gets you excited! It keeps you motivated, keeps the good energy flowing and allows you to clearly see that you are making progress (no fuzzy mirages here!).
This is how you set yourself up for success – for continuous improvement – as you move towards your Ideal (and reaching your ideal is possible … just remember to be flexible and adjust your goals when it makes sense to do so).
Celebrate your successes. Applaud yourself for what you ARE achieving. If you’re doubting your progress, try this simple but awesome exercise:
👉Identify a journey that you’re on right now. It can be anything – big or small. Career advacement, professional growth/new skills, getting out of your comfort zone, putting more effort into networking, weight loss, getting more sleep, drinking more water daily, etc.
👉Look at who you were at the start of this journey.
👉Grab paper and a pen (you know I love lists) and write down 12 things that you’ve achieved – even the smallest steps that you’ve taken.
👉Enjoy the shock and surprise when you realize that you ARE making progress. That you ARE achieving important goals along the road to something better. Look at your list whenever you need a boost – and give yourself a great big pat on the back!
As an adult, you don’t have people cheering and throwing confetti every time you do something impressive (sigh … though it would be nice now and then).
It’s up to you to spark your own motivation, move forward with confidence and gratitude for who you’re becoming – and give yourself the applause you deserve along the way.
When you live in The Gain and measure who you are now against who you were at your journey’s start – you’ll sharpen your focus and build momentum towards your Ideal.
One powerful step at a time.
Reply and tell me about a goal you’ve recently achieved. Let’s celebrate how far you’ve come!
To Your Success!
Cindy Haba
P.S. If this clicks with you, then you’ll LOVE The Gap and The Gain. This is just one example of the engaging topics we’re talking about in Career Club – a high-energy group of professionals who meet virtually every week to talk all things career, professional development and personal and professional growth. Join the conversation!