When we hit a plateau in life, it feels like we’re going nowhere. If we understand how to use plateaus, however, they can help move us from mediocrity to mastery.
The entire world was captivated by the rescue efforts to bring 33 Chilean miners trapped underground to the surface. They had been trapped underground for more than 2 months. When they were first determined to be alive, it was expected that it would take up to 4 months to get them out alive.
Those 33 miners understand what a plateau looks like.
The Flat Terrain in Life
A plateau can be a place of uncertainty. As hard as we look, it appears to go on forever and we cannot see an end to it. Once we do get to the end, we may be greeted with a sharp precipice plunging downward—or a steep incline reaching upward. For many of us, it is a thick slab standing in the way of where we want to go.
The flat terrain in our life is rarely talked about. Our society focuses only on the upward trajectories of life, so we attend seminars that teach us how to create bigger sales or we read books by authors who offer “mini-me” courses so we can successful just like them.
Cheap Architecture 
Living in a constant scramble to get to the top is like building a house with a Spanish Colonial facade, trying to pass it off as such. It may get your attention, but once inside it is nothing like it–just cheap and shallow.
If we are too busy always looking upward, we will not take notice of the real interior.
We are seduced by the win-win mentality of America. We want the rags-to-riches life that has been the American Dream for decades. It is a dream that quickly dissolves into a mist, if we are not prepared for the challenges of real life.
Plateaus are uncomfortable because they do not appear to be taking us anywhere—and we are a nation that wants to always be in motion, upward or forward! Success is based on a fresh set of peaks, each one surpassing the other.
Here is a secret I learned from my FBI agent days
A key to mastery is accepting the plateaus.
For years, my average shooting score with my Glock handgun was 82. My goal was to shoot at 100%, but I could not budge off that 82 score. I practiced relentlessly, and came close to giving up, while always believing deeply that I could score at my goal.
Through determination and perseverance, it finally all came together! My breathing, eyesight, and mental focus aligned themselves and I fired my way to a perfect score!
Use the Plateau
If we understand how to use plateaus, they can help us move from mediocrity to mastery.
Here are ways to use a plateau as a time to turn your cheap and shallow house into a real Spanish Colonial:
Inspect the Foundation
When we build too quickly, the foundations may not be sound. A plateau can be the way your body and mind gets your attention if you are pursuing a career or goal that does not empower you. Flat terrain allows you the opportunity to reassess the direction your life is going to decide whether this is where you really want to be.
TIP:
Re-evaluate your earlier goals and determine if they—or you—have changed.
Notice Interior Furnishings
We crash into old memories and bad experiences all the time. The trick with “inner furniture” is not to try and get rid of it, but to take the time to notice where it is and what it looks like. A plateau can give us the time for introspection, where we can look inward and get to know ourselves better. Moving our interior furniture around can open up space we never knew existed.
TIP:
Recharge while you have the opportunity.
Never Stop Improvements
Plateaus can last for days, weeks, and even years. They are not a time to slow down, even though you cannot measure your movement. Instead, keep practicing.
Maintenance and upkeep will distinguish a cheap house from a Spanish Colonial. The former may look good when it is new, but it shows wear and tear very quickly.
Also, there is a distinct difference between a plateau and burnout. In a plateau, you are empowered and recharged so you are better able to work through the flat terrain until you encounter your next peak. Burnout is trying to do the same old things, or do things in the same old ways, without recognizing your need for reassessment.
TIP:
Continue to re-focus on the work you love, because you love doing it.
“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestioning ability of man to evaluate his life by a conscious endeavor.” Henry David Thoreau
How do you recharge when you’ve hit a plateau? Have you changed careers in mid-stream to live true to who you really want to be? How would you distinguish between a plateau and burnout? How has hitting plateaus impacted your leadership and influence? I’d love to hear you thoughts!
——————–
LaRae Quy is former FBI Agent and Founder at Your Best Adventure
She helps clients explore the unknown and discover the hidden truth in self & others
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Edited by Mike Weppler
Image Sources: c0278592.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com, terrelldevelopment.com
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