PLATEAU

Plato (427-347 BC) is one of the world’s best known and most widely read and studied philosophers. He was Socrates’ student and Aristotle’s tutor.

Plato’s middle to later works, including his most famous work, the Republic blend ethics, political philosophy, moral psychology, epistemology, and metaphysics into an interconnected and systematic philosophy. These gave the theory of Forms, according to which the world we know through the senses is only an imitation of the pure, eternal, and unchanging world of the Forms. From this came the concept of ideal love of beauty popularised as ‘Platonic love’ - love as motivated by a longing for the highest Form of beauty.
It was Plato’s later work that is the most powerful and enduring though and this is his concept of ‘Plato-ing’ which, as a result of translation into French in the fourteenth century is known as ‘Plateauing’ or simply just ‘Plateau’
The concept, in simple terms, means that people reach plateaus in their lifetime in the various aspects of their existence. These plateaus can be in education, employment, relationships and health and vary from person to person. Some people have very low plateaus. These are referred to as ‘Base’.

 Some people have very high plateaus. These are referred to as ‘Driven’

Most people fall somewhere in between.

An example of ‘Plateau’ is in employment. Most people, when young are driven to succeed and put a lot of energy into their careers. Getting further up the ladder of success is deemed by them and by their peers as being very important.

 There will be a time however when the drive diminishes. This could be due to factors such as failing health, being defeated, having relationship and family issues intruding or, in rare instances, of achieving ambitions and reaching the ultimate goal. At this stage the person is considered to ‘Plateau’

You can see how this can work with education, relationships, health etc. as well. Whether ‘Plateauing’ is a good thing or a bad thing really depends upon one’s point of view. Gung-ho high achievers probably think it is a bad thing. Laid back philosophical types probably think it a good thing.

I have ‘Plateaued’ several times in my life.
In education I was ascendant to about the fourth form and then plateaued.
In employment I plateaued early, staying on the plateau for many years until I was 28 and then went into an almost vertical climb which lasted to when I was 55. I then plateaued and have comfortably remained on the plateau for the last six years.
In relationships I also plateaued early. I had a vertical ascension in my mid-twenties to later twenties then plateaued again until I was 35. I have been in ascension ever since.