The greatest lesson from the Stoics—control what you can control— hit home for many college football fans in recent days as two of the most decorated programs in the sport are on the outside looking in, complaining about their circumstance.
The College Football Playoff Selection Committee unveiled its first 12-team playoff roster this past weekend, and coaches and fan bases have let the world know they’re not happy about being left out of the hunt for the championship. After losing to Syracuse University in their season-ending game, the Miami Hurricanes were left to sit and imagine what could have been. Miami Head Coach Mario Cristobal had been a vocal champion for his team being included and took shots at SEC teams with fewer wins than the Hurricanes.
“Miami has certainly done enough to be in the playoffs due to the fact that Miami has won 10 games. As opposed to some other candidates that have won nine games,” Cristobal told the media. “Miami winning 10 is certainly stronger than teams winning nine games.”
But Miami failed to control what they could control. The Hurricanes were up 21-0 against Syracuse but lost the game, something the committee kept in mind when it created the 12-team field. In doing so, the committee gave the Hurricanes and their outspoken coach a blunt message.
“Shut up,” the committee’s actions told the Hurricanes. “You had a chance to control your destiny, up 21-0. Then you managed to cough up that lead. Just close the deal.”
In trying to champion his team, Cristobal lobbied the committee not to put a three-loss SEC team in over Miami and its two very ugly losses.
The University of Alabama, the most successful program in college football over the last 15 years, was also left out of the playoffs. First year coach Kalen DeBoer pleaded with the committee about the strength of the Crimson Tide’s schedule.
The committee rejected that argument, basically telling the Tide, “Enough! How did you get shellacked by a six-win Oklahoma team? How did you lose to Vanderbilt, one of the SEC’s traditional doormats? Win at least one of those games, and you’re in. Control your destiny, and you don’t have to whine about being left out.”
To his credit, DeBoer seems to have taken that message to heart. “There’s things that obviously we got to do and could have done this year,” he told BamaOnLine. “Got to make sure it’s not in other people’s hands and keep ourselves focused on that next year.”
Just like DeBoer, all of us can learn by focusing on what we can control. That’s something that applies in our workplaces just as much as it does in athletics.
Kim Starkey, the president and CEO of King Philanthropies and a fellow Forbes contributor, applauded Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian ever, for saying he only focuses on what he can control.
“Focus—on what you can control, on what’s in front of you, on what’s not only desirable, but achievable—is indeed critical going into any meaningful endeavor, be it Olympic competition or the effort to combat global poverty,” Starkey wrote. “It is an attribute of an Olympic Frame of Mind that is shared, honed, and studied by great athletes and social sector leaders alike.”
Kelly Manthey, the Global CEO of Kin + Carta and a member of the Forbes Business Council, also cited sports psychology in urging business leaders to focus on what they can impact directly.
“Effective leadership in times of incredible change and turmoil comes down to identifying the tangible things we can control and focusing on them as they relate to the bigger picture,” Manthey wrote. She offered four steps leaders can take—taking a moment to reflect on what to do, delivering on what they promise to their team, being comfortable with uncertainty, and focusing on the now.
Following those steps would have helped Alabama and Miami get into the playoffs, something a former Crimson Tide coach said Cristobal and DeBoer should have focused on.
“No coach should have any complaint about what his circumstance is relative to getting in the playoffs or out of the playoff,” the legendary Nick Saban told Sports Illustrated. “Because they all controlled their own destiny and they all had opportunities and they had some flaws and bad losses that contributed to their circumstances. So this could be a learning lesson for each and every team and every individual on those teams.”