The Gap and The Gain

How do you know if you're in THE GAP or THE GAIN?

As Dan Sullivan, founder of Strategic Coach describes, "We're all measuring ourselves against something. We're trained by society and by our parents to measure against something that doesn't exist, an ideal that is really make-believe. This is what I call being in "The Gap." 

"On the other hand, when you measure against how far you've come, you're in "The Gain."  

This is one of the first concepts I learned over 5 years ago in Dan's Strategic Coach program and interestingly it's something I find myself relearning again and again.  

A little over two weeks ago, I was 12 miles into running the Boston Marathon and my knee unexpectedly buckled and gave out.  

Just the moment before, I was having an awesome run, soaking in the energy of the amazing crowds and electricity of the environment, and then found myself only 2 hours in, with pretty intense pain.  

With zero marathon experience and no prior major knee issues, I very quickly had tunnel vision wondering how I was going to be able to finish? My mindset was definitely in THE GAP!

After a short stretch of spiraling inward and grieving the idealistic finish time goals I would not hit, I began to shift my focus to 'My Why" and along with an encouraging "RUN WITH YOUR HEART!" push from my wife, Sarah, my mindset drastically improved and overtook my body's breakdown.  

As Jesse Itzler likes to say, "I didn't come this far, to only come this far." So I dropped my ideals, hobbled for the next 14+ miles and was able to celebrate with my family near the finish and enjoy this memorable day!

This past week, Dan and Benjamin Hardy, PhD just published the major market version of "The Gap and the Gain". I started on the audiobook and it's been very timely to listen to as I slowly get back to my runs and process these past months. The following simple message really resonates again,

"Create wins by measuring where you came from, not the ideal."

I think we all struggle with this concept. But it's the process of connecting the dots backwards (measuring The Gain), not forward (going into The Gap) that really transforms our experiences.

I've gained a lot of wins these past few months:

🏃 Over 500 miles run
❤️ Team Frannie #Heartstrong Runner
🏅 Boston Marathon Finisher

As my #bostonmarathon fundraiser closes out this week, I have such gratitude for the incredible support in reaching over $17,000, which combined with our six Team Frannie runners we raised ~$73,000 for families most affected by Congenital Heart Disease.

 Thank you, Ethan M. Lindberg Foundation!  

Unquestionably THE GAIN!