3 Reasons Why Crossing The Plateau of Latent Potential is Essential for Transitioning Out of the Military
“It takes a decade to become an overnight success”. These were the words Gary Vaynerchuk once told me during the week of Super Bowl 51 in Houston.
For obvious reasons, not seeing immediate results, is very frustrating for transitioning military veterans. So much so that we might feel like quitting on our post-military dreams and settle for less meaningful lifestyles.
James Clear points out in his book, “Atomic Habits”, that the stage of development where we are excited to see progression, but are met with stagnation and lack of progress and want to give up is called the Plateau of Latent Potential.
From researching and understanding the Plateau of Latent Potential, here are 3 key reasons veterans can become discouraged during military transition:
The Reasons:
1. Expectations, expectations, expectations.
When we leave the military, we expect our success and progress in the real world to be linear, but in my experience, it’s anything but that.
In terms of progress and performance, it is natural to experience a delay between what we think should happen and what actually happens, or when.
It can be very frustrating. In the military we were accustomed with our results being aligned with our expected outcomes because so many details along the line of promotion and recognition were chiseled out in paths others had taken time and time again before us. It’s just the nature of progress and performance in the military.
Life outside the military is not linear and desired results are often delayed.
“You should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results.” - James Clear
2. Not Strengthening Our Networks.
“Your network is your net-worth.” - Robert Kiyosaki. Think of your circle of influence and the people you associate with mostly on a day to day basis. While serving, chances are, 90% of your professional connections will all me military or government affiliated.
If you are looking to land meaningful opportunities in the “real world” this poses a major problem. 80% of job opportunities never get posted. They are all filled by internal referrals from employees who work at the company with the opportunity that submit the resume and provide a recommendation for one of their network connections.
Additionally, your network provides a major source of information, knowledge, and further connections. Imagine how much growth you could achieve if you were connected to people already doing what you want to do, where you want to do it.
3. Focused on Goals, but Not Focused on Systems
“Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress” - James Clear.
Systems are the daily routines and processes you follow to improve and move forward in your civilian life with success during and after transitioning from the military.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the Plateau of Latent Potential is an inevitable stage all veterans will experience during their transition to civilian life. Nobody explains this during the TAPs, ACAPs, and other mandatory transition programs.
Understanding that it is normal and being able to recognize the signs that indicate we’ve reached this plateau is half the battle. The second half is tuning into your inner strength and discipline to stay in the fight and pursue your post-military dreams.
Overnight success is a myth. Success in your civilian life will come from your consistent perseverance through the great times and the rough ones. Setting expectations based on fact and research, strengthening your civilian network with people where you want to be in life, and employing systems to help you define, determine, and track your progress will bring you closer to your post-military goals.
Managing yourself and your mindset will help you push past the Plateau of Latent Potential, and lead to the results you know you deserve.