For kids who want to get into a top college, whether it be academically or athletically, the competition level has never been higher.
As with anything where competition becomes more fierce, the time dedicated to gaining some sort of advantage increases right along with it.
With seemingly every parent in America trying to get kids an edge in getting that acceptance letter, or earning that scholarship, it begs a very simple question.
What should my kid be doing to get where they want to go?
Luckily, researchers have been working on this question for decades and now have a very good idea.
In the highly recommended book "Grit", by Angela Duckworth, one of the topics they explore is the well-known idea of adding a variety of extracurricular activities to your schedule as a way of impressing the college admissions departments.
The findings of the research studies (called the Personal Qualities Project) show that it isn't those who take part in extracurricular activities that stand out, but rather those who stick with it year after year.
Through follow up studies years later, they found that those who stuck with their 'optional' activities were far, far more likely to graduate from college, hold a steady job into their 30's, and to be chosen as leaders in their field.
The commitment these kids showed as a teen was the best predictor of future success, far more accurate than socioeconomic status, grades, ethnicity, or any other characteristic.
And it didn't matter what the activity was - athletics, art club, debate team, student government - those who stuck with it stood out.
If you and I are aware of this fact now, guess who else discovered this years ago?
College coaches and admissions offices.
In our training environment I cannot speak to the results of this study in any bigger sense, but it aligns perfectly with what we've seen in the thousands of kids we've coached over the last 20 years.
Those who stuck to their training and fought through challenges were the ones who've become our highest achievers as they got older.
The others - whose motivation wavers over time, who are perpetually 'busy', who seemingly always have some sort of minor injury - they always seem to land at a point below where you thought they'd end up.
Duckworth refers to this trait as grit, and believes that it is one of the most critical personal habits we should all be working to improve.
This of course doesn't mean you should just stick to it no matter what.
If something isn't really of interest to you, you should explore different interests until you find one that really lights a fire inside you.
Then, when you find that, fight through the little daily setbacks we all face to push forward on your journey.
Learn to do that, and you're statistically far more likely to find greater success for many years to come.
