Climb Down from the Plateau so You Can Climb Up the Mountain

You may be at that point in your career, that point where you feel that you’ve reached a plateau, and no matter what you do, you can’t seem to make any advances towards your goals. The Plateau Syndrome, as I call it, is a common occurrence among business professionals. You get into a routine, everything in your work is going fine, but you wake up and realize one day that though nothing is necessarily “wrong” with your life, somewhere along the way, you lost sight of your goals. You’ve been traveling along a horizontal plain, your plateau, rather than scaling the vertical slope upwards towards success.
Following the metaphor, imagine you’re standing on a vast plateau, elevated, but never sloping upward. There in the distance, along the horizon, you catch a glimpse of a towering mountain whose peak is concealed by the clouds in the sky. You know you want to climb the mountain. It will be more work and take more focus than continuing along the plateau. You know this, but you get the sense that something wonderful and fulfilling is awaiting you at the top. You’re drawn irresistibly towards the mountain’s hidden peak. But, how will you ever get there? In short, you’ve got to climb down from the plateau first, and walk to the foot of the mountain before you can start climbing it.
If you find yourself feeling stuck on a plateau, take some time this week to reorient yourself towards your long-term goals. This may mean some refocusing, refining, and recalibrating of the position you’re currently in. Or you may learn that it’s time to move into a different role, take on new responsibilities, and seek out other professional experiences. One thing’s for certain, if you’re stuck, you’ve got to find a way to move. And though it may seem counter-productive at first, sometimes you’ve got to climb down, before you can climb up again. Up towards success.