Plateaus and Perseverance

Looking back on my life, I can see times when I acted as what our lesson refered to as a "Dabbler". Other times, I behaved as more of a "Hacker", and yet from time to time, usually depending on who I'm on my journey with, I have shown up as the Obsessive. I thought quite a lot about these three personalities, both in business and in my relationships. I saw others that I know very clearly as one or another. But looking at myself was difficult. I was grateful when the book, Mastery mentioned that everyone has each of these at some point in their lives. It was a relief to be normal for once. I saw some times in my first marriage where I was the "Obsessive." I had to have my house imaculate all the time. I tried so hard to be perfect. I held onto the relationship so hard, for so long that I just about squeezed it to death. I did the same thing when I tried to start my first real business. I gave into what my partners wanted, losing sight of my vision. I put up with very negative partners, and I kept it going too long. In the end, some of our relationships ended badly. Most of the time, I'd say I'm a "Hacker". Many of my skills I learned fast, without paying for them. I just picked them up, and it made sense. I certified because I felt it would be good to be credentialed and that I might learn something new along the way. Generally speaking, I hit my plateaus and stop doing the things I need to do each day to improve my skills. Good enough is good enough. When I felt impressed to learn to do family history, I decided it was not going to be one of those skills I could just pick up. I was right. So, I went to BYU-Idaho for training. I felt I couldn't be a "Dabbler" or a "Hacker." I was going into it for the long-haul, so more of an Obsessive was in order. During my family history degree journey, I have hit several plateaus. Thankfully, one of our earliest lessons was to be content with the learning journey, knowing that this work is never done and we never know everything. It took some time, but I have learned to be happy on the plateau and to love practicing my skills just for the practice. I have learned to keep working, keep studying, keep taking classes (even if it takes me a long time to earn my degree). I am now grateful that I've learned to persevere while sitting on the plateaus.