We have all experienced the feeling of being in a rut – whether that's with your health and fitness goals, relationships, or in your career. And in your career, it can be difficult to feel like you're plateauing and that your 'journey' has come to a halt. But there are ways to overcome this and feel excited about your career once again!

There are many different reasons why you may be feeling like you're in a career rut and understanding this is the best way to start overcoming it. Some of these reasons are direct results of actions or decisions you have made yourself, but other reasons are outside your control.

Which of these types of career rut resonates with you?

This type of plateau happens when there are no more opportunities for you to move into within your organisation. This can happen quite quickly if you work in a small organisation or if there is quite a flat structure in your organisation, but even in very large organisations this can happen sooner or later.

These happen when you have become very good at your job and you simply feel like there are no challenges to keep you moving forwards.

These are within your control but for a multitude of reasons you have simply stopped developing and looking for opportunities to learn, develop, and grow. This can lead you to feel resistant to change, isolated, and vulnerable.

These can occur when you have chosen to plateau due to caring responsibilities outside of work. Women who return to work after having children can often feel this way when their children are small. But this can also happen when people choose to prioritise activities, sports, or passions outside of work.

You can decide yourself to plateau when you love what you do and don't want to make the next career move, as you feel it will involve managerial responsibilities that will take you away from your passion.

It can be very easy to view a plateau as a 'bad thing' but there are many positives to having a plateau in your career.

They allow you the time to take a step back and look at where you are, and what you have achieved and give you breathing space to think about what you want your next career steps to be. You don't always have to be rushing to achieve the next thing!

This time for self-reflection often leads to self-development and a resurgence in career motivation and determination.

Plus while you're plateauing you can be deepening or consolidating your knowledge and expertise which can lead to more opportunities further down the line.

Here are four ways to help you avoid staying in your career rut, so you can blast through your plateau…

Have a plan It can be easy to stay plateauing for too long, so set a deadline for re-engaging with your career journey. You can always change this deadline if you want to closer to the time, but without the initial deadline you're more likely to stay stuck.

Reframe success Use this time in your life to find 'success' in things away from job titles or salaries. Maybe you could take on a new project? Learn a new skill? Gain a new qualification? You can celebrate these milestones in the same way you would a promotion.

Consider a new organisation If you are finding that your organisation may be the reason behind your plateau, consider a new organisation. A sideways move to a larger organisation can be a great stepping stone to a leadership role.

You can also read my blog ‘Feeling Stuck In Your Career. Top Tips To Getting You Unstuck’

However you plan on tackling it, use this time in your career to discover exactly what YOU want out of your career journey, without pressure or external influences. You can use this time positively to create opportunities for yourself when you’re ready to move from plateauing to peaking in your career.