Often times we desire to achieve a goal that at first seems too difficult to achieve. Not much time passes that a student doesn't express interest in obtaining a black belt or reaching a fitness goal, whether it be losing that last 5 pounds or increasing endurance. Almost without exception the same sentiments are echoed: "I could never get in the shape I want to be in, it's been so long since I last worked out.", "Training is difficult now, I can't even imagine getting a black belt." and the list goes on.
The underlying problem is constant. It is human nature to focus on the end game. Time and energy needs to be directed towards breaking the lofty goal into smaller, more easily obtainable goals or milestones. Milestones serve several purposes. First of all, milestones are easier to achieve than the end goal. Milestones provide a sense of accomplishment and motivation to keep us working towards the larger goal. Second, milestones provide much needed "checkpoints" which allow us to determine if we are on track to achieve exactly what we set out to accomplish. We are all guilty of setting long term goals without a means to track our progress towards achieving those goals. Milestones solve this problem.
Imagine going up to a child who was starting grade school and explaining to him that after he finsihed the first grade he would study and go to school until graduating from high school with no interim grades. That's twelve years with interim milestones. The same holds true for martial arts. A black belt would be harder for most to achieve without interim belts. Belts provide smaller achievements which add up to the desired outcome, the black belt.
We must never lose sight of the fact that we can achieve most things with proper planning and hard work.