Plateaus

Plateaus in life are often associated with boredom and stagnation, a place where generally you don't want to stay for too long. In exercise, you've hit a plateau when you are doing enough activity to maintain your level of fitness but aren't doing enough to stimulate many fitness gains. In fact, the longer you continue to function at the level of your plateau, the more likely it is that your level of conditioning will actually start to diminish. The same holds true for other areas of life whether it's at work or in a relationship. We stop growing the longer we stay at rest in a plateau but breaking out of it can be as simple as changing up your routine.

I'm a very "routine" person but the way I function within a routine has changed. For years, I used to eat the same three meals a day and follow the same weekly exercise routine. At first, the regimen helped me establish healthier lifestyle habits but after a while, I stopped seeing improvements. Now, I have worked on changing my routine periodically (rotating through different food options and different workout schedules) so that my body (and mind!) are constantly stimulated and challenged.

Now I consider plateaus in life to be about balance. One of my weekly neighborhood runs includes a handful of pretty steep hills. I sometimes avoid doing the run when I feel tired because it always takes a little extra effort and energy, both physically and mentally. But yesterday, I was feeling good so I decided to go out for my "hill run". The first hill climbs a bit, then levels out for a while before the final push up to the top. What occurred to me, as I was mid-way up the long hill, was how grateful I was for the natural plateau right in the middle! It would be so much harder to push up the hill if it just went straight up without a break. That plateau gave me a moment to "rest" and pick up some speed to finish it up, probably faster than if it were a straight hill! It also gives me a mental break, where I can recover from what I just did and prepare myself for what is to come.

If we didn’t have plateaus in life, we wouldn’t have balance. People who constantly push and push to the next level without taking some time to “level out” typically burn out, in more ways than one. I certainly have experienced burnout in areas of my life when I was too afraid to slow down. The body and mind need time to adapt to changes, growth and stimulation. Some people need longer than others but you can usually tell when it’s time to push ahead. You know you’ve been in a plateau for too long if what you’re doing is no longer exciting, interesting or stimulating. What’s great is that there is always a way to take your life to a new level. Breaking out of a plateau can be as easy as trying a new food, taking a different exercise class, implementing a new idea at work, or surprising your mate with a date or a new activity.

Now I can appreciate and accept the natural plateaus that life has to offer, instead of trying to avoid them or push right past them. Plateaus are another thing that bring balance to my life and give me the renewed strength and energy to move ahead with gusto.