Relentless IQ → #16 [2026] → Keep believing, even when it’s hard.
Relentless IQ is your weekly dose of mental + physical performance.
Insight
It’s easy to believe when things are going well… it’s a lot harder when things have gone sideways.
One of the many reasons I love sport is because it gives you these little snapshots of life.
Yesterday, professional cyclist Wout van Aert won Paris-Roubaix after chasing it for nearly a decade. After years of trying, tough days on that course, and repeatedly coming up short.
And then it came down to a sprint finish against Tadej Pogačar- one of the best in the world (ok let’s be honest… he’s a machine).
Van Aert won, and was understandably emotional after the race.
One thing he said stood out to me: “When luck was not on my side, I kept believing in it.”
And about the years leading up to it: “I stopped believing a lot of times… but I would start believing again the next day.”
I loved that. As much as we want it to be- belief isn’t always some constant, perfect feeling. It can come and go. Especially when things aren’t going your way, and even more so when something takes years to accomplish.
But the key is what you do when your belief momentarily fades… You show up the next day! And you start believing again. And again. And again.
That’s how you stay in it long enough for something good to happen. To get that thing you’re working for. Because it doesn’t always come easy- and it definitely doesn’t always come quickly.
But if you keep showing up, and keep choosing to believe, even when it’s hard, you give yourself a chance. And sometimes, it all comes together like it did for van Aert.
He believed for years, and it came down to a sprint finish. And he just kept believing all the way across the finish line.
Question
Where in your life has doubt crept in, and what would it look like to push through it?
Quote
“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
Workout
Every 6:00 x 5 Rounds
400m Run
12 DB Thrusters
10 Burpees
*Rest with remaining time
Coach’s Notes:
Start a new round every 6:00, rest the duration of the time. So if it takes you 4:00, you get 2:00 rest.
PUSH EVERY ROUND. Start to finish- send it. Then see if you can recover and hit it again.
Adjust distance/reps if needed so you are getting at least SOME rest.
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