My first awareness of Dan Sullivan was 6 or 7 years ago when a friend returned from a session with Dan in Toronto and gave me a copy of a presentation called “The Gap”. I have recently listened to the tape again and this time it clicked with me. Is it that I’m just a slow learner?
In this presentation Dan draws a metaphor with the horizon. You can always see it but try as you might you will never reach it. Nobody suggests that the horizon does exist, it’s a concept, something that we understand. That doesn’t mean that the horizon isn’t real, but we don’t get frustrated because we can’t reach it.
Similarly there is the ideal which is a mental construct like the horizon. It is not achievable and the gap is the space between what is reachable and the ideal. It helps us to establish goals, to motivate us and to withstand the disappointments along the path. Goals are achievable and need to be stated in real terms so that progress can be measured.
He differentiates goals from ideals and helps you come to grips with the gap between performance, goals and ideals in order to appreciate the success you achieve. The trick is to measure your progress from where you started (Dan refers this as Actual A1) to where you are now (which he calls Actual A2), measure backward never forward so that you can see the distance moved towards your goal. The gap is the difference between the achievement and the ideal.
Unfortunately we humans don’t always measure ourselves the same way when we get to A2. Those who measure themselves against the gap end up frustrated and disappointed because it never reduces, they always feel like failures. They may achieve great things but they never feel the benefit, never feel that they can reward themselves for their progress.
Those who measure from A1 (the start point) can always see how they have progressed. They experience satisfaction and a sense of optimism.
It’s a difficulty I have always had and still have when wearing my dentist’s hat. Having studied with some of the best clinicians I knew what was ideal but I was always plagued by inability to achieve it, it was one of the main reasons that led to my reducing my clinical commitment. The Gap was a source of constant unhappiness, frustration, and dissatisfaction. I couldn’t accept that all the patients who had been treated to stability and health and who had learned to control their disease was progress. I could only see the ones that we hadn’t influenced, who had not understood or even rejected our message.
It makes no sense to measure yourself against the Ideal. You cannot see progress even when it is great. You do not get any of the emotional or psychological benefits of your activities. It results in discouragement and unhappiness. Use the Ideal for inspiration and motivation in setting your goals, but measure your progress based on Actual 1, where you were when you started.
Dan Sullivan calls the 2 ways of living the Negative Zone and the Positive Zone. Some people live parts of their life in one zone and parts in the other, but usually by a certain age we pick one or the other as our primary mode of dealing with things. If they choose the Negative Zone (and this is not a conscious choice — such a negative choice is not possible if one is conscious), in addition to the negative consequences described above, they also become very discouraging to other people. They become the kind of person who, when another achieves something, points out how much better it could have been. “You got 88% in your test? Why didn’t you get 95%?” Whenever something good happens, they always look to the deficiency. We all know people like this.
Those in the Positive Zone, however, in addition to creating their own happiness and inspiration, also inspire and motivate others by pointing out how much progress they have made (and also helping the other person to choose to live in the Positive Zone). Those in the Positive Zone live with constant self-acknowledgement, constant progress, and a sense of continuing growth. The Positive Zone is one of fulfillment and well-being, and I highly recommend it.
Knowing what you know at this point about the Gap, it is very important that you take inventory of yourself on this crucial issue. What do you measure yourself against? If it is the Ideal, you need to learn how to measure yourself against Actual 1 — or, be willing to pay the price.
The Incisal Edge 