I recently shared this with my team:

Stress is the gap between what we expect and what actually happens.

When you constantly compare your results (the “actual”) with your expectations (the “ideal”), you will continue to find yourself frustrated and losing confidence.

So how do we counter this?  Yes, we must set expectations.  And I talk a lot about setting BIG goals that excite you and even scare you.  But once we place that stake in the ground to define where we want to go, we must learn to measure ourselves and our progress by how far we’ve come.

This means, rather than constantly comparing where you are today to where you wish you were, you must instead “turn around” and compare to where you were yesterday, last month, or even last year.

Celebrate your progress…often…while pursuing perfection.  (Aspire Rule of Play #14)