Losing sight of what earlier excited us about our careers, our partners, our lives, and our futures is common, leading to a sense professional and relational stagnation. The exciting dreams that earlier drove us fade as we settle into familiar habits and make adjustments to our expectations. To a degree, this is normal and maybe even healthy as we mature emotionally and gain experience and practicality, but much of it has to do with disappointment, burnout, distraction, and inertia.
Who and where we are now is almost inevitably far different than what our young adult selves once envisioned. Those still in that “young adult” demographic are likely beginning to see the shift as the realities of life make themselves known. For many, the lives they lead are far richer and more satisfying than anything they expected, while for others missed dreams and unfulfilled promise are a source of depression and professional burnout, especially if it feels the reins of their own lives got dropped.
There are many reasons we allow behind a sense of powerlessness or the futility of expecting any better. Some are legitimate but most are mere rationalizations. It is the rationalizations that allow us to plateau while absolving us of any responsibility for overcoming them in order to stay on track and maintain optimism and hope.
Plateaus and the Police Subculture
Police officers are as susceptible to hitting unsatisfying and depressing plateaus as anyone else, and may even be more vulnerable due to the inherent politics of law enforcement, the well-known cynicism that afflicts LEOs, and the competitiveness within the culture. A quick glance at your own agency, your friends, and maybe even yourself can be illustrative of plateaus in the police subculture. Cops feeling burned out and bored, stuck in a professional dead end and wondering “is this all there is?” are plentiful.
Some find themselves stuck on that plateau as others blow past them into exciting assignments or promotions, or envying the degrees they’re chasing, the fun they’re having, or their family and personal life they enjoy away from the department. Being stuck on a plateau is depressing if not devastating. It’s also a place almost all of us will eventually find ourselves sooner or later, whether at work, home, or both. Surviving a plateau requires we regroup to overcome inertia.
When the New Year Brings the Same Old
January is usually seen as a time of renewal, new opportunity, and fresh starts marked by abundant and optimistic – but ultimately doomed – New Year’s resolutions. Now well into February, how many of your resolutions have been discarded like so much used wrapping paper and brittle, browning Christmas trees at the curb?
The problem with the resolutions we make is that most are to do the very things we should have been doing all along. We should have quit smoking long ago (or never started even farther back in time). Eating right isn’t really difficult but it’s so much easier to grab some greasy, processed food on the run than make the effort to put together healthy meals three times a day. Other resolutions (going back to school, applying for specialized training or assignments, etc.) may require effort and breaking out of our routines, but our own baggage, uncertainly, ennui, or plain old laziness gets in the way.
We’ve written before about the failure of resolutions and the need to replace them with the concept of “goals” to encourage greater success. But even goals remain unattained when we get stuck at self-imposed plateaus, and success requires serious effort to overcome old or bad habits by replacing them with new and healthy habits. Research suggests 6 months to a year is needed to fully ingrain these new and healthy habits and requires significantly commitment so, to stay stuck — to remain “plateaued” — really does feel easier. Doing the hard work to create a strategy, get moving, and build and maintain momentum required to turn a sustained, focused effort into a new habit requires serious effort.
Decide It’s Worth the Effort
Career stalled, but you have too many years in to jump ship now – and too many years before retirement (a common impediment to drastic career change many cops face when pension, salary, and benefit considerations must be considered). Or maybe you still like being a cop in theory, but the reality isn’t what you’d wish for. How can you reinvigorate yourself and the enthusiasm you once had for the job? What changes can you make day-to-day to overcome burnout, boredom, or get out of the political doghouse? How can you make your police job fun again?
Has marriage or other important relationships gone stale, needing attention to get back on track? This is something almost all of us will face in our lifetimes, and sometimes more than once, and how we respond to stagnant relationships is critical to whether they reinvigorate or collapse. How important your partner, family member, or friend is to you will be answered by how you move forward.
Or maybe your personal and/or professional growth has topped out, and unfulfilled goals and dreams feel (or legitimately are) beyond reach? A characteristic of plateauing is abandoning former aspirations while failing to form new ones. The idea we are too old or tired for new experiences is surprisingly common, with serious ramifications for our emotional and physical health. It leads to boredom and unresolved boredom can both lead to and indicate a clinical depression.
Chose commitment. Determine what areas of your life are stagnant or plateaued and where you wish they weren’t, and set about making the necessary changes. Call it whatever you want but decide to tackle the challenge of getting off your plateaus.
