If you’re pursuing a long-term goal, nothing feels quite as inevitable as the old dreaded plateau. No matter the type of goal–career, finances, fitness, relational–there’s a strong chance that after some initial progress, a lull will quietly inch its way between you and that coveted finish line.
The reasons for such plateaus are many and varied, but fortunately so are the solutions. So, if you’ve made some significant movement in the direction of your goal and you feel stalled, here are some things you can try.
1. Relax
Plateaus are areas of rest in between “pushes” on the way to the completion of a goal. As you birth your new goal into reality, balance your masculine (push, go, work, DO) and feminine (allow, rest, flow, BE) energies. Know that progress is often made during the apparent rests. Hammocks don’t exist for no reason, I always say.
In fact, sometimes the tension is what’s holding back the results. Relax your “trying muscles” for a little bit. According to Serena Williams, ”If you are behind in a game, it’s so important to relax, and that’s what I do–when I’m behind in a game, that’s when I become most relaxed.”
2. Be Grateful
A plateau means you’ve been making progress. Maybe you’ve lost 20 pounds, or you’re coasting at work, or you’re able to hold your Zen for 10 minutes in meditation. Whatever the accomplishment, you’ve made one. Sure, you’re not all the way to your final goal, but by definition reaching a plateau means you’ve already done something effective. Take time to stop and acknowledge your progress AND any help (divine or human) you had in getting to this new place.
This is also a great time to count your hygiene factors. Seth Godin describes a hygiene factor as “something you miss when it’s gone, but barely notice when it’s there. Clean sheets at a hotel, for example.” We have so many hygiene factors in our lives–it doesn’t hurt to stop and acknowledge them.
- A car that works
- Central air and heat
- Running water
- Healthy children
3. Hone the Basics
Get back to the basics. Ensure plenty of water, nutrients, sleep, and exercise. Clean your house. Change the oil in your car.
What is the most basic practice on the way to your goal? Like practicing scales on piano, most big goals have some basic practices that often require fine-tuning… Think: pulling weeds in the garden, decluttering your files at work, organizing your tools in woodworking, optimizing your sleep in any endeavor.
You get the idea…. Basics.
4. “Decorate”
In Tango, the leader chooses the flow of the overall dance, but will sometimes leave a little ‘space’ between movements, a meaningful pause. The pause is placed as a gift—the opportunity for the follower to add a “decoration,’ some fanciful flourish that adds beauty and personality to the dance.
During a pause, the follower would never pout that progress isn’t being made. That would be ridiculous. Likewise, when we’re gifted with plateaus, we could pout (which would be ridiculous…) OR we could ‘decorate’ by creating a moment of beauty in the space.
If you can’t seem to make progress on the weight loss, try treating it as an opportunity, a space to decorate. Take a bubble bath. Or buy yourself some fresh flowers. Nothing wrong with a little self-lovin’. In the immortal words of John Lennon: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
5. Align Your Belief
Remember that there are three of you on the trip to your goal: your mind, your body, and your heart. Why is this important? Often, when we’re stuck on a plateau, it’s because we’re waiting for one of our other travel companions to catch up, to come into alignment. So,…help ’em out! Ask yourself:
- Do I believe it in my mind? Remember, when you’re making progress towards a big goal, you’re identity shifting. Your mind–who identifies strongly with your old way of being–is going to ask you at every turn, “Are you sure?” This is where you learn to breathe easy and say YES! The key is that you actually have to believe it. Your ego will call you out on any bullshit. Prove to your mind that this is in fact the new you. In fact, your ego may throw you all sorts of distractions, detours, and obstacles. Your only job during the plateau is just to say, “YES! Yes, I’m sure. Look at me being sure.”
- Do I feel it in my body? You know your body feels it when your physical body is relaxed. If your body resists or tenses up when you engage in or think about your goal, you’re not feeling it in your body just yet.
- Do I know it in my heart? The only way to answer this question is to get silent and listen. Your heart speaks the language of intuition, of “just knowing.” When you get quiet, when you silence the monkey-chatter that is your mind, what do you just know?
6. Embody the Current Change
To embody means to make concrete, to give visible or tangible form. If you haven’t embodied all of your current progress (which includes any resources and/or opportunities you’ve accumulated), there’s little chance of further movement. If you’re not being a good steward of the gifts you’ve received so far, why would God (the Universe/your Inner Being) give you even more?
Whatever progress you’ve made so far…own it. Ask yourself:
- Is the current progress real in my environment?
- Is the current progress real in my habits?
- Is the current progress real in my language?
- Is the current progress real in my relationships?
- Have I “used up” all the resources I’ve been given?
- Have I exhausted all current opportunities for progress?
When you’ve embodied, you’ve achieved a New Normal. The plateau starts looking more and more like a starting place than a lull. You should be able to take for granted that this is the way things are from now on….
It’s pointless to try to move to a new level until you’ve embodied this one.
7. Explore the Borders
Okay, so there’s a little bit of metaphor mixing here, but just go with me on this one. Sometimes there’s something that’s holding you back from progress, something other than a need for rest and consolidation. Sometimes, there’s an actual barrier between you and the next level of momentum. If you’ve tried resting and embodying and, hell, even thrown in a decoration or two, and you’re still not getting any movement on that goal, ask yourself if you have one of these potential barriers to progress:
- Is the next step a plunge right into a pit of personal demons? (ie. If I ________, I’ll have to face my _____________)
- Solution: Harboring some demons? Acknowledge them and start coaxing some of those bad boys out into the light.
- Is there an Upper Limit Problem? In The Big Leap, Gary Hendricks defines the Upper Limit Problem as the amount of success that you allow yourself to have. Once you hit that invisible glass ceiling, you start to self-sabotage.
- Solution: Identify the specific ceiling and take purposeful steps to move beyond it.
- Is the next step off a practical precipice? For example, if you lose all the weight, you know you have to face the loose skin that’s left behind. Or if you get the promotion, you know you won’t have as much time to play tennis.
- Solution: Fear Setting (Tim Ferriss)
- Is the next step “impossible” right now? For instance, you want to go back to school but you’re currently working two jobs and raising a kid alone.
- Solution: Build around the goal. At work, take on more responsibilities that reflect your ideal career path. At home, start building routines that allow more time flexibility. Start to create the context in which the next step could eventually occur.
- Is there no next step? Sometimes there IS no next step. Maybe it’s an outdated goal or you’ve simply already maximized the goal’s potential. Your home is as decorated as it needs to be. Your six-minute mile has pushed your body to its limit.
- Solution: Celebrate! Then create a new goal in a different area or a “branch off” goal.
8. Help Others
If you’re just sulking on your plateau anyway, you might as well face back in the direction you just came from and cheer someone else to your current stage. You’ve managed to increase your side-gig profits to $500 a month? Great! I bet someone in your life would love to have made that kind of progress! How can you help them?
9. Ask for Help
Just like there are people who could benefit from your expertise on the path to their goal, there are others who’ve already faced and overcome the plateau that you’re currently on.
Who could help you move to the next step? A personal trainer? An accountability partner? A life coach? A writing class? No matter the goal, there’s someone out there who’s been where you’ve been and who likely would love to tell you how they moved beyond it.
10. Identify the New ZPD
The Zone of Proximal Development is the next level of growth that a person can reasonably achieve with concerted effort, teaching, and/or support. Let’s say you’ve lost 10 lbs so far (with goal of 40). If you’ve never been able to lose and keep off 10 pounds, your ZPD is not losing another 30 pounds. Your goal might be to maintain the current weight for a month. Active weight loss and maintenance require two different mindsets.
What got you here won’t necessarily get you there. Plateaus are a great time to reassess and, if necessary, re-equip.
In fact, imagine your goal is to scale a literal mountain. Before you summit, you may have ridden in a car and/or a plane (unless you live right beside the mountain), walked a bit, hiked, geared up, rested, scrimmaged, rested some more, climbed….
Likewise, losing weight, cultivating a riveting sex life, learning an instrument, and mastering a sport all have one thing in common: Step A is often very different from step G, which is vastly different from step Z. If you walk into a new long-term goal-setting situation with the idea that it’s just the same step over and over, stalling is guaranteed.
Identify your current location and decide on your next stretch goal. [Warning: If you try to make a new stretch goal too soon, you’re likely to backslide big time, bringing the glory of your plateau right down with you. Establish the plateau as your New Normal first. THEN decide on a new stretch goal.]
Final Thought
A plateau establishes Your New Normal. It’s a launching pad that’s at least somewhat closer to your desired destination. If you’re patient and you apply at least some of these ideas , you’re likely to be re-reading this from a NEW plateau–that much closer to your goal– in no time.