How to Break Through a Plateau
For anyone who is working just as hard as before and has stopped seeing progress.
A plateau happens when what got you here stops getting you further. To break through, change something instead of just doing more of the same: get honest feedback, work on your weakest area, raise the difficulty, change your method or learn from someone further ahead. Most plateaus are not a sign you have hit your limit. They are a sign it is time to adjust.
In business, there were seasons when revenue was down and the market was shifting. It was easy to blame outside factors.
As a leader, I couldn’t just point to the market or the environment.
The better question was what we could have done differently, where we could have pivoted faster, made better decisions or created more opportunities despite the conditions we were in.
I knew that if I made it about everything else, I gave away my power to change it. But if I made it about me, I could grow from it.
Writer Joshua Foer called it the “OK plateau”: the point where a skill becomes automatic and stops improving because we stop paying attention to it. Research on expert performance by Anders Ericsson found that experts keep improving by deliberately working on what they cannot yet do well.
A plateau is not a ceiling. It is a signal to change something.
Six ways to break through a plateau
Get honest feedback
Ask a coach, mentor or peer what is holding you back. The answer is often obvious to them and invisible to you.
Work on your weakest area
People tend to practice what they are already good at. Breakthroughs usually come from the part you have been avoiding.
Raise the difficulty
Heavier weight, harder clients, bigger goals, tougher competition. If it feels easy, you are maintaining, not growing.
Change the method
Try a new routine, a new approach or a new tool. Sometimes a small change in how you work unlocks the next level.
Learn from someone further ahead
Study people who broke through the same plateau. Books, mentors and coaches can show you what to change.
Measure smaller wins
Track the details: quality, consistency, effort. Improvement often shows up there before it shows up in the big numbers.
A plateau is not a ceiling.
It is a signal to change something.
Common plateaus and what to change
- 1. Sales numbers flat: change your prospecting method or target a new segment
- 2. Fitness stalled: change the program, intensity or recovery
- 3. Career stuck: ask for feedback and take on a stretch assignment
- 4. Grades plateaued: change how you study, not just how long
- 5. Athletic performance flat: work on your weakest skill with a coach
- 6. Business growth slowed: revisit who you serve and how you reach them
Related reading: How to Get Unstuck in Your Career, How to Stop Coasting and How to Get Honest Feedback.
Common questions
Why do I hit plateaus?
Often because a skill has become automatic and you have stopped pushing on its weak points, or because the method that worked early no longer challenges you.
How do I break through a plateau?
Get honest feedback, work on your weakest area, raise the difficulty, change your method and learn from people further ahead.
What is the OK plateau?
The OK plateau, a term popularized by writer Joshua Foer, is when a skill becomes automatic and stops improving because we no longer practice it deliberately.
Is a plateau a sign I have reached my limit?
Rarely. Most plateaus mean your approach needs to change, not that you are out of potential.
Change something instead of doing more of the same: get feedback, work your weakest area and raise the difficulty.
You Are Capable
of More.
Ten principles for becoming the person you know you are capable of being, built from real stories of people who doubted themselves and did it anyway. Winner of the How-To category at the 2026 Paris Book Festival.
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