Beyond Peak, to Plateaus for Further Growth

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with affection, and affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-8)

Don Lemon was rightfully fired from CNN’s morning show for emphatically stating that women peak in their 20s or 30s. Lemon’s ouster made me question what it means to “peak.” If peaking is simply a physical condition, then I was at my best when I was 18. I worked out for over an hour daily and felt like I could run forever. I would jump in the lake in the summer and swim for miles. Yet, defining a person’s peak by one’s physical prowess alone is too simplistic.

I have been an ordained Presbyterian minister for over 35 years, and I still do not feel like I’ve peaked. I may not have the energy I had 30 years ago, but experience more than makes up for any physical limitations. With experience comes the wisdom of working more intelligently, not faster. Knowledge and the understanding of how to utilize information grows over time. In “When Does The Average Person ‘Peak’ in Life?” Julian Frazier, PhD, challenges the reader to “Turn your ‘peak into a ‘plateau.’”

Some people peak in High School and never feel that alive again. Others think they peaked in their 40s at the top of their work life and feel the last twenty years were about surviving long enough to gather enough assets to retire comfortably. Instead of decades of survival mode, Dr. Frazier calls the reader to “Live an Uncommon Life.” An uncommon life begins by reframing the idea of peaks. Rather than a peak, when we view our stabilizing moments as plateaus, our mind and soul recognize room for further growth and development.

Today, write down the peak moments in your life. Then, ask if any of these peaks were plateaus on the way to further growth and development. Prayerfully ask God to lead you forward with new goals, missions, and opportunities at every stage of your life. I hope Don Lemon learns that women and men are more than their physical peak. When we embrace our multiple peaks and turn them into plateaus, life remains intriguing, and we continue to make a difference for God’s kingdom and our uncommon life.