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The Okay Plateau

 man standing on a mountain cliff

I had a conversation with some family members the other day about the concept of continual improvement. The idea that, regardless of the proficiency we have already developed in a particular skill or discipline, we are able to always improve in the areas of our lives that are important to us (I’m okay with my sub-par paper mache skills and not really looking to advance that “skill”). But the problem lies in the tendency to get to an acceptable level of competence and then stop advancing. We get complacent.

Apparently, there’s a term for this leveling-off of development: The Okay Plateau. And evidently, it’s a quite popular place! Consider your driving skills: you are likely not significantly more skilled as a driver than you were five or ten years ago despite thousands of hours of “practice.” Or how about your typing ability? Whether it’s on your phone, computer or some other device, you likely spend several hours a day doing some kind of typing (yes, texting and browsing social media counts), but I doubt you haven’t dramatically improved those abilities in a long time. Whether you shave your face or your legs, you probably haven’t enhanced effectiveness or reduced your completion time much in the last decade in that arena either.  

But there’s much more at stake than these mundane, everyday tasks. We visit the Okay Plateau in much more meaningful areas of our lives. We do it in our relationships. In our ability to effectively communicate. Our parenting. I talked with one gentleman a while back who, after nearly fifty years of marriage, still tries to learn one new thing about his wife every day. This is natural when we first start dating someone, but can you imagine the impact that would make in marriages if we were still doing this after decades!?! We also end up at the Okay Plateau with our career and work skills as well as in the talents we wield to improve the lives of those around us. We even let it happen in abilities attached to our passions and hobbies.

There are many facets of our lives in which the Okay Plateau shows up. And we probably can’t address and amend them all. However, consider your life. Where must you ensure the Okay Plateau is destroyed? In what areas of your life must it never be a final destination?

In a few days, I’ll provide some more insight into this issue, but you must first choose the paths of your life in which you refuse to plateau.


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