I am still far from being what I want to be, but with God’s help I shall succeed.

Honesty about the distance and confidence about the outcome can live in the same person. Being far from what you want to be is a description of where you stand, not a verdict on whether you will get there. And the confidence does not rest on willpower alone, but on something outside the self being on your side. Grace, luck, other people, time, whatever you can accept under that name.

When you take stock this week, say the honest number and then stop there. Do not add the sentence that turns a gap into a character flaw.