Perhaps the most successful college football coach in history is former Alabama head coach Nick Saban.  He rarely spoke about winning championships. Instead, he preached “The Process.”

Break every goal (game) down into individual plays warning his players to ignore the scoreboard and the clock. The goal was to “win the play” you are currently in, regardless of the score.

By focusing only on the next six seconds of effort, his teams avoided the emotional fatigue of the playoffs. They didn’t play to “win the game”; they played to execute a specific assignment on a specific down. Saban’s philosophy is a cornerstone of sports psychology, often cited by Dr. Kevin Elko, the consultant who helped Saban implement the mental framework at Alabama.

The “Inspiration” here is that high-stakes goals are achieved through micro-ambitions. When the finish line feels miles away, the most “inspirational” thing you can do is narrow your vision to the next 24 hours. As the saying goes in these locker rooms:

Or as influential sports psychologist Ken Ravizza puts it:  “Be where your feet are.”

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