Breaking Through Plateaus in Self-Improvement

"The goal of this post is simple: to practically change how you think about and respond to performance plateaus. Many people probably feel like they already know everything they want to about plateaus. After all, plateaus are everywhere and encountered by nearly everyone. There are weight loss plateaus, for example. 1-2 Fitness, strength, and athletic plateaus. 3 And, more broadly, plateaus in every endeavor in which people seek to keep improving (e.g., learning, building a business, advancing a skill). 4"

"Like the mythical troll under the bridge, plateaus seem to take mischievous delight in stealing our progress, draining our motivation, and leaving us feeling stuck and frustrated. Responding to plateaus is about strategy, not brute force. It turns out that not all plateaus are the same. They have distinct causes and require specific responses to navigate. Just as a master carpenter must become dexterous in their use of different crafting tools, mastering performance plateaus entails the skillful use of different behavioral strategies."

"Type 1 plateau What is it? A type 1 plateau occurs when our current behaviors are no longer sufficient to stimulate additional progress. For example, a type 1 plateau is often the cause when a diet stops producing weight loss, a training program stops producing strength gains, or a practice routine stops producing improvements in learning a foreign language or playing a musical instrument.."

Plateaus are common across domains such as weight loss, fitness, learning, and business, yet they are often mistakenly treated as identical. At least three distinct plateau types exist, each arising from different causes and demanding specific responses. Effective responses rely on strategy rather than brute force, requiring skillful behavioral adjustments analogous to a craftsman using different tools. One common plateau (type 1) appears when current behaviors are no longer sufficient to stimulate progress, for example when diets, training programs, or practice routines stop producing results. Overcoming a type 1 plateau requires evolving methods and changing behaviors to reinitiate progress.

Read at Psychology Today