Dabo Swinney breaks down the meaning of 'best is the standard' at Clemson

Clemson has had a motivational word play that it has used to remind players what they’re striving for, and it’s both simple and effective: “best is the standard.”

Coach Dabo Swinney was asked about best is the standard and what it means, and he dove into it for a several minutes at a press conference.

“I mean we started that when I got the job,” Swinney said. “A lot of people, especially with the success that we’ve had over the last 12 years or so, people think that it means the best. That’s not what it means.

“It’s about being our best, your best. Best is the standard is about being and doing your best in everything that you do. That’s an inward focus, and I think that’s where a lot of people, they, as our program has developed, they take that the wrong way. It’s never been about being the best.”

Swinney explained that the difference is significant. Focusing on being the best leads one to compare himself to things that are on the outside. Focusing on being the best you can be results in a different sense of focus.

“When you’re just focused on being the best, to me that’s dangerous because you’re comparing yourself to other people,” Swinney said. “That’s a dangerous way to live your life, living your life from the outside in. What I believe is if you are truly committed; I just don’t think you can be the best until you get committed to being your best. Whatever the best version of you is.

“That’s what we’ve always said, forever and ever and ever, we’re on a quest for best. Well what’s best? The best we can be. Sometimes things happen that are out of your control, and sometimes you’re maybe not quite good enough to be the best, but you can be your best.”

Best is the standard goes beyond just what happens on the football field, too.

Swinney wants to develop young men of character, and that means best is the standard applies to everything players touch, from academics to work in the community.

“It’s about being your best in everything that you do,” Swinney said. “Really truly making excellence a habit in every area of your life. So hey, maybe the best I can do is a ‘C’ in this class. That’s OK. That’s OK. That’s fine. But if your best is you can make a ‘B’ but you’re settling for a ‘D’ then that’s a problem.

“So it’s just getting everybody to understand the commitment of, ‘Hey, let’s be our best.’ That’s a mindset of taking what we do have and making the best of it. And I think that’s what successful people do.”

Dabo Swinney spells out BEST

The word best itself is also a motivational ploy at Clemson, with each letter representing something different. Swinney explained them all, within the context of best is the standard.

“B is for belief, you’ve got to believe. You’ve got to have an unshakeable belief in yourself and who you’re working with and the things that you do, you have to have a belief. Even when life comes along and creates doubt and circumstances happen that you don’t like that make you not want to believe, you have to have a belief.

“The E is for effort, you’ve got to put the work in. Nothing great’s going to happen, you’re never going to be the best version of you if you don’t put the steps in. You’ve got to have great work ethic.

“And the S is for you’ve got to seize the day with a sense of urgency. Every single day you wake up, man, hey, let’s win the day, let’s seize the day, let’s have purpose in what you do.

“And the T is for toughness, it takes toughness to be your best because life happens. Life happens and things happen where you doubt and fear sets in and you don’t believe, or you just don’t feel like putting the effort in that day. You wake up and it’s like, man, you just don’t want to seize the day, you don’t have that sense of urgency. Well that’s what the T’s for, toughness, because you’ve got to do it anyway. You’ll never become your best if you don’t have the toughness that it takes, because we all have setbacks and things like that.”