Figure out the cost, then figure out if you want to pay it.

The hard part is you don’t really know what it takes to achieve mastery in jiu-jitsu. You know there’s the training. But not a lot of people talk about the highs and lows of training, the blue belt blues, the injuries, and especially that you may be training at the wrong school under the wrong instructors and with the wrong students.

So, think about what you want from jiu-jitsu. If you just want to have fun, that’s fine.¹

But if you want to become a master, you have to think harder. Don’t let your friends and instructors tell you how to get there. They don’t know.² And you don’t know either, but you will eventually, if you continue to review and/or revise your long term goals.

I’ll note that just about every black belt I know says there’s no change in anything when you become black belt. You don’t suddenly become something or someone else. George Leonard writes about this in Mastery, one of my favorite books. His example is the winning Super Bowl team. They achieve the ultimate success on Sunday, but on Monday, it’s over and they’re on to the next.

Enjoy the journey, as that’s all there is.