𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗲?

Ever had a parent pull their child because they decided to overextend their schedule?
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Same. It’s maddening, because it’s preventable.
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Here’s the core problem: when families see your program as a month-to-month membership instead of a goal-based journey, quitting feels harmless. 
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“We’ll just stop for now.” 
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𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘁 𝗙𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀. It’s a dojo. 
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University of Pennsylvania psychologist Angela Duckworth found that building grit, (i.e. perseverance) is the number one indicator of longterm success, not IQ. 
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So how can we help more students develop that GRIT muscle, and not give up because of scheduling, ​ or training being too difficult, or because they are bored?
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Simple, it’s about setting expectations from the beginning. 
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We have to teach our families the difference between quitting and moving on. 
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Quitting is stopping mid-goal (mid-cycle, mid-belt, mid-season) because it got hard, boring, or busy.
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Moving on is finishing the goal you set, then deciding the next right thing. Moving on is fine. Quitting isn’t.
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Tell parents plainly: “In this school, we don’t quit mid-goal. We finish, then decide.” 
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You wouldn’t let a child leave a game at halftime; don’t let them leave mid belt either. 
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And while I’m biased, not every kid needs martial arts forever. But they do need to complete what they start. Is that such a crazy idea?
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[BTW If you want my exact script for how to frame what you read below on Day 1 (and how to handle the “we’re too busy” conversation without sounding pushy), comment “grit.” I’ll send it to you free] 
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𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸:
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𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲.
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 “Your family’s first checkpoint is [Belt/Stripe/Skill Test] on [date window]. We’ll celebrate that finish, then decide the next goal together.”
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𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
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 “Boredom is normal. Plateaus are normal. We coach through both. That’s where discipline grows.”
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𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮 ‘𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁’ 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲.
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 A one-paragraph pledge the parent and student sign at enrollment: we finish today’s goal; we don’t quit mid-cycle. Put a copy in their welcome folder and reference it in every wobble conversation.
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𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 “𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘆” 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘂𝗽𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁.
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 “We designed training so you can succeed with a normal family schedule. If something comes up that makes it difficult to get to training, can you let us know immediately?
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𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 ‘𝗜’𝗺 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱.’
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 If your child is bored, that’s great! That means they need to be challenged, and we can do that. Bored is your brain asking for a challenge. Challenge them more in class. 
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Now, even if you employ all these strategies, you will still have students discontinue their training. This isn’t 100% bulletproof. 
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Unless you’re chaining students to the mat, “moving on” is a normal part of any student experience, and that’s okay! 
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Don't guilt anyone for "moving on." 
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Let’s just do a better job of setting expectations so we help develop that grit muscle instead of the quit muscle. 
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As promised, 3 min read, no fluff, all strategy,
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Your hype man,
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Matthew Brenner