Here is part of an interview I recently heard from the late Kobe Bryant about holding himself accountable and how he delt with his Inner Rival:
Kobe: “I'm not negotiating myself. The deal was already made. [The] deal was made when I set out at the beginning of the summer and said, “this is [the] training [I’m] planning on doing”. I signed that contract with myself, I'm doing it. You know throughout the process [you] will start talking yourself like, “man I gotta” I think I need to”, “maybe if we” …Nope. No, this is not negotiable”
This is one of the reasons Kobe is such an inspiration to me. He didn’t act like he didn’t have an Inner Rival trying to hold him back. Instead, he spoke on how he worked to silence his Inner Rival and the message he would send himself. He understood that he made a commitment to himself and what he wanted to achieve in his life. He understood that his Inner Rival would be there trying to get him to quit or take the easy route. But he also understood the only way to greatness and achieving what you want in life is through silencing your Inner Rival and putting in the work.
One of the things that made Kobe able to silence his Inner Rival so effectively was that he always kept a commitment once he made it to himself. There was no “will I or won’t I”. He said he was going to put in the work, so that’s what he was going to do. By committing yourself 100% it can actually become easier to follow through with difficult tasks. When you aren’t fully committed, you start to have the internal battle on if you want to follow through or not. When you commit yourself 100% there is no question that you are going to put in the work and follow through.
Are you willing to put in that work? Because whether you do or not, your Inner Rival will still be there. It’s just whether you are going to let it dictate your actions, or if you are going to silence it and choose your actions. Actions that will propel to a life of purpose and direction.
Good luck silencing your Inner Rival