It's you against you

You just finished a long run. You feel great—runner’s high in full effect. 5 minutes pass, and you’re still riding that wave. But an hour later, as the endorphins wear off, you start analyzing your slower-than-expected mile splits. Suddenly, that high fades, and you’re left wondering if you really gave it your all. Did you push through your limits, or did you hold something back? That nagging feeling that you didn’t beat your own mind? That stings.

We do this all the time in life. In the moment, things are hard and we just want the pain to go away: physical, mental, emotional, whatever it may be. But when it’s over and your heart is still beating, you start to wonder: Did you really give it your all? Could you have given more? Could you have achieved your PR if you pushed on the last sprint?

The counterintuitive truth is that the real path to greatness isn’t in outdoing others but in consistently outdoing yourself. While it’s easy to seek validation from beating others, the real challenge—and reward—comes from setting and meeting your own standards. That’s why endurance sports are such a powerful testing ground—they strip away the noise and put you face to face with your own limits. Before you can conquer others, you need to conquer yourself. Look no further than the greats: Kobe, Brady, Jordan. They were only satisfied becoming the best versions of themselves, constantly raising their own bar. Winning is just a byproduct of those personal standards.

Competing with others is also often a coward’s way out. If you were to beat a 10 year old 1:1 in pickup basketball, would you be proud of yourself? Hopefully not. You still won? Who cares. The point is that it is so easy to pat yourself on the back when you compare yourself to average. In reality, you didn’t compete with yourself, you didn’t push yourself to be great. You have so much more to give. You just have to decide to be great.

So you have decided to be great, but how do you actually make it happen?

Simply, use discomfort as your way-finder. Our monkey brains are wired for comfort (we once needed to preserve energy to run from lions). But your mind is now getting in the way of achieving your dreams. So pursuing and feeling discomfort is validation that you are pushing yourself towards your potential. You are taking a step closer to greatness.

This is a small but powerful reframing of discomfort. Most people tolerate discomfort reluctantly, and would run as far as possible from it if they could. But you run towards discomfort, because you know that a fulfilling life is earned, not given. In today’s world, you may be able to stay alive in the comfort zone, but you aren’t living until you leave it.

We often celebrate competition, but too often, we are focused on the wrong opponent. The only competition that matters is with yourself and that outcome is 100% in your control. Remember, every decision has a price: you either decide to be great and pay with discomfort now, or you choose comfort now and pay with regret later. I know the life I want to live. Do you? In the end, it is you against you.