Do You Measure the Gap?

Something that’s been ingrained in me from my dad and my mentors has always been setting my goals for the year.

The one thing that always tripped me up was how I measured my success. I always did that based on the goals I accomplished.

Often, I found myself being perpetually dissatisfied with my progress because I wasn’t accomplishing all of them. Some of my goals just felt so big and too far away to achieve them.

What I didn’t understand is that the problem wasn’t in my success at achieving the goals. The problem was how I measured them.

The challenge is that you can be so busy looking at your goal and how much is left to accomplish it you keep getting disappointed. And then you get more frustrated, and the goal feels like it’s just getting further and further away.

What do you do instead?

Measure the gap backward. I learned this back in 2008 when I attended a workshop with Dan Sullivan, Strategic Coach. I adapted this from the book he gave us, Learning How To Avoid The Gap, and have used this ever since.

You look at where you are, and you go backward and see all the changes, shifts, and things you’ve done to get to the place where you are now. Yeah, maybe your big goal isn’t accomplished. Yet, you need to look at how far you’ve come!

The space between when you started your goal and where you are now. That gap is JUST as important as your achieving your goal.

When you start measuring backward and see the strides you’ve made, your mind shifts from feeling like your goals are gonna take forever to reach—to continually feeling like you’re making progress.

That inspires you to create bigger goals, and you feel more fulfilled, which leads to more happiness.

My other favorite part is acknowledging and celebrating the small steps with something that will make you smile and bring you joy. It could be something small, like going out to dinner or taking a hike, or bigger, like taking the day off or buying yourself something special.

Whatever it is, it’s just as important to celebrate your small wins because it will give you the fuel, stamina, and mindset to keep going and accomplish your ultimate goal.

When you’re setting goals – There are 5 things you need to do (From Rob Berkley, The GoalMeter.)

Write them down. (Studies show writing them down really works.)
State them in positive language. (“I want to…”)
Be measurable. (Think about how many, how often, how long, or how you can measure it.)
Be under your control.
Side Effects – Negative or positive from achieving your goal.

Some Questions to Ask Yourself:

Is your goal worth working toward?
Are your goals in alignment with your personal values?
Do you feel any internal resistance to achieving your goals?
Have you written your goals using sensory detail?

Other things to Consider:

When I do goal setting, I do them in 5 Different categories. I try to have one or two goals in each.

Relationships
Career
Financial
Health
Spiritual
Trips I will take in the year (This one is optional.)

Examples Using the Goal Setting Guide Above:

I want to reach my financial goal of making $500k within the next two years.
I walk 5k steps 5 days a week on my favorite hiking trail.
I will save $150 every week and deposit it into my new wealth savings account.
I write down 3 ideas twice a week about how I will create more success in my business.
I will write one hour a day, 5 days a week, on my new book.
I wake up every day and list 3 things I’m grateful for

Then, when you’re ready to make your goals come alive – keep in mind – what you will need for support to be successful. How will you stay accountable? How often will you revisit your goals to see whether you are on track?

If you’re an overachiever, on a regular basis, envision what it will feel like when you have achieved your goal(s).

What will it feel like next year at this time when you’ve accomplished it?

This is the time of year to start looking back at 2023 and where you are now in your business and life. Is it where you thought you’d be? Do you need to do something differently?

Start to think about these questions and make some notes. And start to notice how you feel when you think about your goals and what you want to accomplish.

Your goals need to inspire you, and you want to feel like you can accomplish them.

I hope this gives you a jumpstart for ending your year and also gets you started looking at 2024

Quote I’m Pondering:

For many people, an obstacle means a dead end. There’s no use trying; you can’t go any further. But for Creative people, especially those who live in the positive zone—an obstacle is simply the raw material for creating innovative solutions. ~ Dan Sullivan (Strategic Coach), Learning How to Avoid The Gap: The Skill of Building Lifetime Happiness

Powerful Mantras to Inspire:

“I stand still and see the power within me.” ~ Florence Scovel Shinn
“The sun now comes out in my mind and body, and I see clearly the fulfillment of my heart’s desire.” ~ Florence Scovel Shinn

Earworm of The Week: “I’m stuck in a moment and can’t get out of it…” U2

Weekly Photos:

I was in Houston, TX, last weekend, visiting my mom and my sister. I can’t believe I hadn’t seen my sister since our wedding in 2019—yikes. I am so glad to hang out, take walks, go shopping, and have lots of laughter for the soul.

Plus, there were some amazing sunsets after the rain.

We had to take their Great Pyrenees dog – Bentley, to Starbucks for his puppuccino. He’s so big and adorable.

Then, on our shopping spree, we came across this orange sign that I thought was pretty comical, so I wanted to pass it along.

The last picture is one of my favorites! Mt. Shasta from hwy I-5 driving home after Thanksgiving. I just love how the road looks like you’re gonna drive right into the mountain.