WHICH BEST IS BETTER?
Clemson University has built one of the most successful football programs in the country over the course of the last decade, winning two national championships and six Atlantic Coast Conference titles. Their culture is built on high accountability and clear expectations. At Clemson, when you walk into the football facility, the message is clear. It’s unavoidable. It’s everywhere. At Clemson, best is the standard.
That’s a great mantra for any of us who are working to succeed in any important area of life. “Best” should be the standard for each of us. But that message does pose a couple important questions that are worth exploring here today. Like, at Clemson football, which "best" is the standard? Is being the best the standard, or is being your best the standard? Those are two different pursuits. Which standard is higher? And for those of us working to become people worthy of winning in our own lives, which best is better?
The argument for striving to be the best is strong. There’s an element of comparison and competition that’s undeniable in many meaningful areas of life, and that makes the idea of being labeled “the best” pretty appealing. It’s a public affirmation of your effort and your achievement. The truth is, winning is fun and it’s important, and if achieving that desired outcome solidifies that you are superior to those around you, then being labeled the best is worth earning and enjoying.
Striving to be your best, on the other hand, isn't quite as appealing, mainly because it doesn't come with all the glitter and fanfare. Being your best is more like a personal pursuit. How you compare to anyone else is irrelevant. The only competition is yourself. There's usually not as much recognition or acknowledgement for your effort or achievement, mainly because the work is pretty much disconnected from the outcome. Being your best means showing up and giving everything you’ve got today, regardless of and maybe even in spite of how it turns out.
But if the focus of this conversation is on setting the highest possible standard for your performance, then I want you to see that a commitment to being your best is actually better. That’s because when the standard for your performance is driven by competition or comparison, then barely better than the nearest competitor is good enough. If they’re at a 90, then a 91 from you will get the job done. If their best is an 80, then an 81 is acceptable. If they can muster up a 70, then a 71 from you will work. Being the best requires you to meet the lowest possible passable standard.
But if you’re focused on being your best, then there’s only one standard of performance, and it doesn’t waver. The expectation is 100-level effort and performance, regardless of who else is competing or how they compare. With this mindset, you’re focused on giving everything you’ve got to what’s in front of you, and in doing so validating once again who you are and what you’re all about. It's evidence that to you, today matters, and that you’ve got a responsibility to yourself to maximize all it has to offer. Ironically, as a by-product of this commitment, you put yourself in the best position to achieve the winning outcome you're after.
This is the mindset that drives Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney and his program. “Sometimes people may take that (slogan) the wrong way. You don’t see win national championships up there. That’s not our goal. Our goal is to be the best we can be,” Swinney said. “We want to be our best. Whatever God gave you, be the best you can possibly be. That applies in every area whether it’s the best coach you can be, the best player, whatever.”
I want to challenge and encourage you today to make best the standard, but to clarify, as part of that commitment, which best is better. It’s easy to want to focus on being the best, but as is typically the case when it comes to becoming a champion, the easy way is rarely the better way. Focus instead on being your best. Raise the bar for your performance and the expectations that come with it, and then work everyday - including today - to meet it.