I need to be honest with you: I didn't enjoy my HYROX race last week. Not one moment felt like I was “crushing it.” I was slower than I wanted to be, overheated, disappointed, and questioning myself more than once.

And you know what? That makes it the most valuable thing I've done so far this year.

This is the story of how a tough race taught me more about resilience, self-efficacy, and mental strength than any perfect performance ever could.

It's about what happened when I debriefed with my AI coach ChatGPT, how the science of stress inoculation actually works, and why doing hard physical things — especially when they don’t go to plan — can radically change how you show up in every other area of your life.

If you’ve ever felt disappointed after something you worked hard for… or wondered whether pushing yourself physically is “worth it”, this episode will shift how you see challenge, confidence, and growth.

• Why the challenges that stretch you don’t always feel good in the moment and why they matter more because of it
• What HYROX actually is and why it's become a $140 million global phenomenon that makes "average people feel like athletes"
• Why this was the first event I've paid for that I genuinely didn't enjoy (and why that made it so valuable)
• How self-efficacy, stress inoculation, and generalized confidence actually work (backed by research from Albert Bandura)
• Why my brain learned more from struggle than it would have from a perfect race

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