Have You Ever Been Caught in the Gap?

You may recall the concept of the Gap and the Gain from a prior Next Level Thinking blog that I published on March 15, 2022. I’d like to explore this concept further because I believe it can impact many of us in both our businesses and lives.

As Dan Sullivan, the creator of the Gap & Gain Concept and Co-Founder of the Strategic Coach organization, stated, it’s similar to walking toward the horizon for 30 minutes and then looking toward it. You will feel like you’ve made no progress at all (the Gap). However, if you look back and see how far you’ve progressed in comparison to where you started, you will experience what he describes as the Gain. The same principle holds true in your business.

Similarly, if you start contracting some of your costs (feed & fertilizer) or some of your revenue streams through programs such as the Dairy Revenue Protection program or other Hedging Strategies, you can get caught in the “Gap” where you are looking at where you’d ideally like to be and then get frustrated with your current progress.

On the contrary, if you observe how far you’ve come today in comparison to where you started two years ago, your primary focus will be on the progress you’ve achieved, instead of “utopia.” This will help you avoid encountering unnecessary frustration.

Dan goes on to explain that some people who are very successful have great lives and are quite satisfied, while others in similar circumstances are very unhappy. “Why is that? The key is in how they look at life. The brain has a great ability to see a vision of how things could be in the future. The trick is to use that ‘ideal’ as inspiration, and not to measure your progress against it, because it will always continue to change and evolve as you do.”

He adds: “In order to feel happy about your achievements, you need to measure them against where you’ve started from. This will keep you out of ‘The Gap’ and constantly living in the positive zone – ‘The Gain.’ When you measure your progress against your starting point, you will always have a sense of success, satisfaction, capability and confidence.”

I would agree that your best approach will be to always measure your progress against where you started. Then, celebrate your “Wins” along the way, too, and realize that you are, indeed, making gains. Before you know it, you’ll be across the finish line of success!

Please allow me to leave you with this: Are you being caught in the Gap?

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!