When asked if he felt pressure from fans' expectations, Kobe Bryant responded, "Their expectations will never be higher than my own. Never, never, never."
Setting a higher standard for yourself or placing more pressure on yourself than the external world ever could make handling outside expectations easier.
I always remember Kobe Bryant's response from this interview. Around the 40:40 mark, Ahmad Rashad asked Kobe if he ever worried about pressure from fans' expectations when struggling. Kobe interrupted before Ahmad could finish, almost disgusted by the thought, and replied:
Their expectations will never be higher than my own. Never, never, never, never, never, never.
Kobe Bryant did not care about others' opinions. Nobody could hold him to a higher standard than he held himself.
I first learned about this interview from this Founders podcast's episode.