There is a constant struggle in self-improvement to close the gap between our actual selves and our ideal selves—often we have a set of goals that we hope gets us closer to becoming this idealized person.
I find this model of change and improvement problematic since it implies clear progress (toward or away from the goal) and implies that reaching the goal is winning and success.
The road to lasting change and improvement is usually bumpy and circuitous, jumping back and forth between reflection, ideation, planning, and action, instead of proceeding smoothly from one stagse to the next.
The goal is not just to get to the action stagse, but to continue to engage with the whole process, jumping to another stagse as the need or desire arises. Sometimes this means moving the goalposts or abandoning the pursuit of that goalpost altogether.
Winning and success is taking part in the whole process, not just getting to the goalpost.