As the first quarter of 2025 wraps up, take a few moments to reflect on your progress since January. If you didn’t set any goals for the new year, now is a great time to do so!

Start by asking yourself these questions:

• How much progress have you made?
• What have you learned?
• What will you choose to stop, or start, doing so you can make even greater progress in the next 90 days?

If you journal, consider spending some time on that in the next few days. If you don’t journal, check out this piece on the benefits of daily writing.

Mind the Gap

In one of my go-to books, The Gap and The Gain, the co-authors explain that the “gain” is the progress one has made, and the “gap” is the margin left undone upon evaluation.

Let’s say you work in fundraising: You set a first-quarter goal to raise $100,000, but you only raise $92,000. You (and your boss) will likely lament and focus more time on the shorted $8,000 rather than recognizing the $92,000 raised.  

[RELATED: Choose Progress Over Perfection]

No wonder burnout, depression, stress, and anxiety are prevalent in society – so many people are focused on the gap!

So, give yourself a break: Choose to recognize and build momentum upon the progress you have made in 2025. Make adjustments based on what you have learned and keep moving forward. Don’t wallow in what you haven’t accomplished – doing so will leave you feeling deflated, exhausted, and maybe even like you are a failure. It is simply not helpful or honest.

As Albert Einstein once said, “Failure is success in progress.”

Choose to continue.

When trying to invent the light bulb, Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Choose to persevere.

So, now that you understand the gap and the gain, how did the first quarter of 2025 go? And what will your goals be for the next 90 days?

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