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It’s very easy to get discouraged when you plateau: when your learning slows to a crawl, and there doesn’t seem to be very much growth. But did you ever stop and think why it happened?

Skydivers aren’t afraid of skydiving because they’ve done it many times before. A lot of performers don’t have stage fright because being on stage is normal for them. These people hit a plateau because their activities become normal to them, and the challenge may have subsided. Here’s how I deal with getting past a personal plateau.

When I hit a plateau, I have stopped taking risks. I recognize it immediately.

It’s very easy to fall back on things that come naturally, or work regularly. The plateau comes when you stay with things that have become comfortable, and don’t push further.

The best way to get up and out of a plateau is to fail. Try something that discourages you or scares you, and learn from that experience. This is a vertical move: from amateur to expert. Risks will help you learn.

I’ve also found that I’ve hit a plateau when I still am uncomfortable in a familiar task. I might have things that work for me and things that don’t. In this case, I learn other skills to help me in my task. This is a horizontal move: from uniform to diverse. Risks, in this case, will allow you to branch out.

Here’s a simple chart to illustrate this point:

And sometimes a plateau isn’t terrible. It forces you to learn by solving problems. Take a dive, and learn something new!

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