Word #66. Plateau.

Like climbing a mountain, the first leg of a learning journey clicks along rather quickly. Dopamine hits keep you focused and engaged as you make quick and regular progress early on. There is momentum and thrill when starting something new. It’s fun!

Until it’s not.

Like hitting a wall, suddenly you stop making progress. All your effort is getting you nowhere. You’re stuck. Frustrated. The wind has left the sails. You’ve hit the plateau.

This is where monsters on the Hero’s Journey lurk. Resistance. Distraction. Victimhood. They are ready to lure you off this path and set you back down into the ease of mediocrity.

Rather than quit, though, you are aware of this psychological reality. You know the plateau is real and even a significant part of the journey. This is the place where you pause, reflect and regroup your strategies. It’s the time when you call on a mentor or guide.

Learning is not linear. We fail our children if we expect it to be. Like naming an emotion in order to deal with it healthily, naming the plateau can be the difference between quitting and soaring.