Shifting Gap Thoughts Into Gain

Have you ever stopped to think about your thoughts? With over 40,000 running through your mind each day, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But here’s something powerful: we are uniquely created by God to observe and choose our thoughts. This is more than mental strength—it’s spiritual discipline. I call it thought shifting.

The book The Gap and The Gain by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy explores how we often measure ourselves by how far we are from our ideal goals—the Gap. This mindset leads to discouragement, guilt, and frustration. In contrast, the Gain measures how far we’ve come, cultivating gratitude, confidence, and peace.

I’ve come so far since beginning Delay and Pray® in 2021! It was a traumatic start, but that sorrowful gap in January of 2021 with the loss of my Mom turned out to be a huge gain in faith. It was quite the leap for Jesus that year.

Reading the book shortly after, I began to see the Gap as Enemy Territory—where fear rules and our worth is based only on what we can see, like a death or an increasing scale or an empty bank account. The Gain became a vision of the Divine Will—where we trust God is working in us, even in our slow progress and suffering. The Gain helps us consider the work that God is doing in us daily.

One day we are successful, the next we plan our fasting regimen, we prepare, and then we overeat. The Gain mindset shift helps us to consider what is underneath the overeating that we need to consider. The Gain always views the seeming setback as a Holy Opportunity that is for us, not against us. This type of thinking helps take the pressure off and leads us on a peaceful path to healing.

As John 5:17 reminds us, “My Father is always working.”

In this context, I was reminded of Romans 12:2, which says: “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” This is exactly what thought shifting is: a renewing of our mind, aligning with the Divine Will, and discerning what truly matters: transformation for our souls and others.

Gap thinking keeps us in comparison and perfectionism. Gain thinking frees us to see purpose in every step, even in setbacks. It’s like removing a backpack full of complaints and putting on one filled with grace and resilience. It’s trusting that even our failures are part of how God is perfecting us—as St. Catherine of Siena said, “The Lord can only perfect you through perseverance.”

When we shift our thoughts, we begin to view past pain through a lens of purpose. We learn. We grow. We forgive. Even challenges become holy opportunities. As Seth Godin writes, “The person who fails the most will win.” Because failure means you’re still in the game—and still learning.

I am still grateful to my mom for helping me begin this fabulous fasting journey. If you want the whole story, it is in my book, Delay and Pray®.

So today, choose the Gain. Choose the Divine Will. Renew your mind with God’s Word, trust in His process, and call it all joy. You were born for this moment. Take courage. Fast, pray, and shift. God is always working.