Overcoming Plateau – Surging Ahead

This year – 2016 for a change has given me a sprinkle of hope. These hopeful aspects are just b’cos of new routines I picked up and which I’m sticking my guns at. For instance, I started regular walking and pushups in the morning. My intention is simple – not to get those chisel cut finish, but to appear healthy. Not the typical pot belly look.

So, how’s the progress? On the outside, progress looks very shallow. I haven’t seen any visibile physical signs to call it a victory. It’s just that I’m doing my bit to stay healthy. With regular practice of walk and jog, I hope to see a positive reflection of change.

But, how long in this stagnant work-in-progress mode?

Change don’t happen in a jiffy, says all the big motivational books.The progress is not like a gradual climb like the simple upward graph. The growth is often like steps. It’s like this. Initially when you start doing an activity, you’ll notice sudden improvement, then for a long, long time, it will be in the same state. It’s the Pateau stage of development. It’s the learning time, where a new system is being tested. Very often, it’s this stage, most of us give up. There’s no visible progress.

For instance, a friend was taking about saving money by giving up smoking. He said that’s not seeing visible results. And due to this, he went back to his old smoking habit. It told him about what Seth Godin calls it a dip. A dip before you realize the result.

For people, each has its own plateau stage and a time when you see yourself achieving results.