I wanna share something that happened last week that shifted my perspective just a little bit. I was having a terrible day, you know, the kind where nothing feels like enough. I had landed a new client, finished a project ahead of time, and got some amazing feedback from my growth Collective members. But all I could think about was how far I still had to go to meet. My yearly goal. Then I called my mom to check in. She has been dealing with some mobility issues lately. She was frustrated that she could only walk to the mailbox and back and kept comparing herself to her friend who was still very, very active. And I heard myself say, mom, literally two months ago, you couldn't even get to the front door without help. So look at how far you've come. And then it hit me. I was giving her the advice that I wasn't taking myself. Hi, I'm Cindy, and you are listening to The Overwhelmed Entrepreneur, and today we are talking about why you are feeling like you're never doing enough, even when you're crushing it, and more importantly, how to shift from measuring it against the impossible horizon to celebrating how far you've actually come. So here's what's happening in your brain, and this was inspired by Dan Sullivan's transformative work on how high achievers measure success. We're all stuck in what we call the measurement trap. You set a goal, you work your ass off, you progress, and instead of feeling accomplished, you immediately look at how far you have to go. The horizon keeps moving, the finish line keeps shifting, and you feel like you're failing even when you're winning. Does that sound familiar? This happens when we measure forward against our ideals instead of backwards against where we started. We are living in the gap between where we are and where we want to be instead of living in the gain of how far we've come. So let me reality check this with you with actual numbers from one of my clients. Samantha came to me about six months ago, completely overwhelmed and making about$3,000 a month, working at least 60 hours a week, and had zero systems. Today she's making about$8,000 a month working just a little bit less than before, so about 40 hours a week. She has two contractors and actually is taking the weekends off. But when we talked last week, she was frustrated. Why was she frustrated? Because her goal was 10 KA month. She was so focused on that two grand gap that she couldn't see the five grand gain. She couldn't see that she almost tripled her income while cutting her hours by a third. This is what measuring forward does to us. It makes us miserable millionaires, literally not millionaires yet, but you get the point. We achieve amazing things, but yet still feel like failures. Here's what's actually happening in our brain, and understanding this changed a lot for me. When you measure against your ideal, that moving horizon, your brain registers it as a threat. You're constantly in a state of not enough, which triggers stress hormones, kills creativity, and ironically makes you less productive when you measure backward. You acknowledge the gain, your brain releases dopamine, you feel accomplished, you feel confidence, you create momentum, you actually become more likely to reach that goal because you are operating from abundance and not scarcity. It's not woo woo. This is neuroscience, and it's why some entrepreneurs seem to effortlessly grow while others grind themselves into the ground. So how do we actually shift from the gap to the gain? Here's the practice that I've developed and it's something that we explore in different ways during our Growth Collective office hours. And if you are not in there yet, you need to be. The mindset. Shifts alone are worth it. Every Friday before you plan next week, write down three wins from the current week. Not what you didn't finish, not what could have been better, but three actual wins. Here's the key. Make them specific and measurable against where you were and not where you're going. A bad example, made progress on my website. A good example wrote five pages of website copy when last month I couldn't even write one. Bad example. Got a few new clients, good example, signed two new clients at my new rate when, three months ago, I was afraid to charge half that. You see the difference there, measuring backward against your starting point and not forward against your ideal. Let's talk about the particularly toxic version of gap thinking, comparing your progress to others. This is especially brutal in the age of social media where everyone's highlight reel looks like their everyday reality. You see someone celebrating their first six figure month, and suddenly your best month ever feels like a failure. You see someone's perfect morning routine and your perfectly functional morning routine feels inadequate. The thing is, as you're not just measuring against your own moving horizon anymore, your measuring. Everyone else's carefully curated success stories last week in my email community, by the way, it has over 1500 other entrepreneurs who get weekly practices, tips, tricks, and strategies. The link is in the show notes if you want in. Someone replied back and said that they felt like a failure because they only grew by 40% this year while someone in their mastermind grew by 200%. Think about it, 40% growth and they felt like a failure. That's gap thinking poisoning actual success. But don't worry, I replied and celebrated the heck out of them because that is worth celebrating. The deepest work here isn't about changing how you measure. It's about changing who you believe you are. When you live in the gap, your identity becomes, I am someone who's behind. When you live in the gain, your identity becomes someone who makes progress. This shift changes everything. It changes how you show up for opportunities. It changes how you price your services. It changes how you talk about your business. It changes how you feel at the end of each day. I used to end each day with a mental list of what didn't get done. Now. I end with three gains from the day, same day, same tasks, completely different experience. If you wanna deepen this concept a little bit more, here is a practice for you. Grab a journal and every night this week answer these three questions. What are the three business wins from today, no matter how small. Question number two, how is today's version of me better than last year's version? And the final question to answer is, what problem do I have now that I would've loved to have a year ago? That last one. It's powerful. Like I'm overwhelmed with client inquiries. The past you would've killed for that problem or you are overwhelmed is I need to hire help. That's awesome. That's a growth problem, not a failure. One of my clients realized her current problem of needing a bigger email system would've been a dream scenario when she had 12 email subscribers. Now she has over 3000. That's gain thinking. Here's something a little bit counterintuitive. When you stop obsessing about the gap and start celebrating the gain, you actually achieve your goals faster. Why is this? It's because you're operating from confidence and not desperation. You make better decisions. When you feel successful. You attract better opportunities. When you radiate achievement. You have more energy when you're not constantly disappointed. It's not about lowering your standards, it's about acknowledging your progress while you pursue potential. Think about it. Would you rather work with someone who's constantly stressed about not being enough or someone who's excited about their growth journey? Your energy attracts or repels opportunity? Let me give you some specific ways to shift from the gap to the gain this week. So in the morning, a little bit of morning reflection instead of starting with your to-do list, start with yesterday's wins. When it comes to client calls, begin by sharing a recent win before diving into challenges. How about your email signature? Maybe add a win of the week to keep yourself accountable in your team meeting. Start with gains before discussing the gaps and social media, how about sharing progress posts and not just milestone posts? The key is making the gain thinking your default, and not something that you remember you have to do. Every entrepreneur you admire, every success story you see. They all started behind where you are now. The difference isn't talent or luck or resources, it's that they've learned to see and celebrate their gains while working towards their goals. This week I challenge you to do three things. Write down 10 gains from the last 90 days. Share one of your gains publicly and start a simple gain journal with just three wins each and every night. If this resonated with you and you want to go deeper, I would love for you to join my email list link in the show notes. And consider joining the Growth Collective where we practice gain thinking together every single week in our community office hours. You have already come so far further than you realize, and it is time to start seeing it, celebrating it, and using it as fuel for where you've going. Until next time, this is me, Cindy, reminding you that when everything feels urgent, nothing really is, especially when you're measuring backwards and seeing all the ground you've already covered. And remember, you've got this.

Thanks for spending these few minutes with me today. Remember, overwhelm isn't permanent. It's simply your brain's way of saying pause and take a little reality check. If this was helpful, you'll love my weekly email tips where I share the systems that keep me and hundreds of other entrepreneurs on Track Link in the show notes. If you got value in today's episode, please share it with another entrepreneur who needs that reminder. If you're loving the show, I'd be so grateful if you could leave me a quick review. It helps other overwhelmed entrepreneurs find us. Make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss your weekly dose of clarity. For more resources and to connect with me, visit exclusively cindy.com. Until next time, remember you've got this.