The Gap and the Gain

Welcome to 2022! I’m enjoying all the memes that say how quietly we are supposed to enter the new year so as not to arouse any major disasters. We’ll see how that goes. I tend to not put a lot of stock in the transition between calendar years. If it’s important enough to start, stop, or do more of on January 1st, it’s important enough to do on December 31st. Or any other day, but in the end, if a new calendar year is helpful for others to make meaningful changes in their lives, I’m 1000% for it. It’s not weird if it works.  But I digress from the main subject.   
  
My business coach recently introduced me to the book “The Gap and The Gain” by Dan Sullivan. If you want the TL;DR of the book, it’s the premise that we often (to our detriment) tend to focus on the gap of our goals rather than the gain. I’ve shared my goal of 150 conversations in the last quarter of 2021. I finished the year at 110, a bit short.  How hard should I be on myself that I missed by almost 30%? Or how much should I celebrate that I had over 100 amazing conversations (mostly in the span of 2 months)?  I’m opting for the latter. My list of gains within those 110 conversations far outweigh the gap of the 40 I didn’t have.  The goal of 150 was an arbitrary number I picked to challenge myself.  I’ve certainly learned a few lessons in how I can better stay on pace for this year’s goal. It’s 500 in case you’re wondering, 500 net, so 390 more to clarify. 

The next question I ask myself is where is the line when I should be disappointed? I don’t really know, to be honest. It seems there is a fine line between satisfaction of progress made and unnecessary obsession with hitting an arbitrary number. I’m a firm believer of the shoot for the stars, land on the moon concept. If I’m actualized enough, I can simultaneously be proud of the accomplishment made but also look for ways to improve going forward.  Regardless, I’m looking forward to the several hundred conversations I’ll have in  2022.   

If you get a minute, I’d love to hear your thoughts on gaps, gains, goals, and how you approach the whole enchilada on this subject. It would be cool to crowd source my next email with your input. Happy 2022 y’all. 

Sincerely,

Russel
“The Backboard”