My friend (a school owner) told me about one of his students that was chasing promotions. This student was taking privates in addition to group classes to fill up his attendance card, thinking he could fast track his way to third stripe blue. In their privates, they did extended sessions so he checked off two boxes per day.

The student put his card in his instructor’s face and demanded a stripe. My friend refused to award the third stripe. The second was just four months ago, and anyway, he doesn’t give stripes for attendance after white belt.

Then the student quit. A grown man.

Checkmarks.

I recognized who it was and it’s someone that’s jumped around schools for various reasons, including getting kicked out of a couple.

Chasing promotions is clearly the wrong approach. The answer is pursuing mastery.

Or fun. Keep it simple.