Plateaus - I manage my plateaus in the best possible way

Introduction 

This is the time when the last big achievement you made is becoming a memory. Things are not up and things are not down. It is the time to reinforce your current work and make sure that you do not fall into a comfort zone. You need to keep moving and must make some changes for the better when you feel you have reached a plateau. We are faced with times when we just do whatever needs to be done with neither interest nor happiness. This is referred to as a career plateau. We feel unimaginative and disinterested. We keep postponing our projects because it all seems so mundane. Many people experience stagnation during their working lives. It's normal. The trick is not to be consumed by it and to find ways to get out of the plateau back to growth and peak performance. 

Benefits of managing your plateaus 

1. We are able to break out of our comfort zones.

2. It provides us with an opportunity to be creative in how to grow again. 

3. It helps us to identify what we can do to get back to peak performance. 

4. It gives others the opportunity to also get out of their comfort zones. 

Skill example

While being a teachers assistant for five years I felt I had learnt all there was to know about my job. I felt less motivated and was not excited to get to work. I then decided to begin my teachers degree so I could become a registered teacher. This inspired me to look at my work in a different was once again and to begin learning the extra skills needed by a teacher. 

Maria’s story

Maria has been working in the bank for over twenty years. She had no idea how the time flew past. Twenty years was a long time to be doing the same thing every day. She reflected solemnly. The only radical changes her industry faced was when they changed the name and management of the bank. The rest remained the same. Yes, there were technological advancements over the years and learning new skills, now it is just plain mundane. 

She wished she could become a trainer or something different, but did not act on it as she was excellent and efficient at her job – so why change that for the unknown? Lately, she hated getting to work and hated being there. She felt like a zombie mechanical robot. Get up, get dressed, get to work, get home. She wondered how much longer she could keep up the charade of pretending to be happy. Maria could work to get out of her comfort zone by growing her skills in being a trainer and to volunteer her time to do relevant training with her team.