There's more to Misogi than you think

What are you willing to mentally and spiritually endure to become a better human?

With a 101 fever it was a strange week. I never do well with flu symptoms and this time was no different

I still had to work but I fell behind on a several projects. Including this and my training.

As I drugged myself up and barely functioned, something hit me.

I get a lot of emails about misogi ideas and picking a misogi. I realized why every single person needs a misogi as their Super Bowl of discomfort.

Michael Easter helped make it popular in Comfort Crisis and several big names such as Jesse Itzler speak about it often.

Misogi is your one big event to accomplish in a year. The one thing you’re not sure if you can do but you attempt it anyway. The ultimate discomfort test.

What makes it so great is that a misogi is something so hard that you cannot just wing it.

The only way to accomplish it is to prepare for it consistently…

So you see, the misogi is not the reward. The effort is the reward. The daily habits are the reward. The Misogi forces you to put the work in daily or suffer defeat easily.

The Misogi forces you to develop discipline around the daily discomfort. The moment you wake up and struggle to open your eyes the work begins.

Every day you have to choose your schedule, how your time will be spent, what you’ll say no to, how you’ll battle that voice in your head.

Or you get derailed, lose preparation, and suffer defeat on your personal Super Bowl. The worst part? You made your entire year success revolve around it.

I am not a runner so my Misogi is to run a marathon in May. A few months ago I was limping through 1.5 mile runs. So it’s obvious how much of a challenge this will be for me.

If you’re trying to think of a Misogi then here are three things that can help guide your decision…

1. Misogi should push the limit. I’ve seen multiple times that whatever your misogi goal is, there should be a 50/50 chance that you will succeed. It shouldn’t be easy enough that you can fully expect to be successful. You need to enter the misogi of knowing that you may fail. There needs to be risk involved. The whole point is to stretch yourself beyond your fear and do something you didn’t know you were capable of. 

2. Misogi should scare you a little bit. Whatever you choose for your misogi you should feel fear. It should make you uncomfortable, and the thought of it should rattle your nerves a bit. Whether it’s starting a business, changing your career, or running a marathon… you should know it’s something life changing to conquer.

3. Misogi is for you, not anyone else. The whole point of the misogi experience is to learn something about yourself. The same as it was a traditional way to purify the mind and body in Japanese culture, which was very personal, the Misogi Challenge is an adventure for you alone. Even if you do it alone with someone else or a group, the experience is still very private. If you’re doing it to impress others, you’ll miss the point.

Once again, Misogi is about the daily work. I chose to rest with my flu symptoms and fever. Could I have tried to run 15 miles with those symptoms? Sadly I’ll never know. Should I regret that I prioritized my health? Definitely not. But the impact of knowing you put in the daily work no matter what is beyond priceless. Ultimately the decision is yours and yours only.

What are your ideas for a Misogi challenge and the daily work needed?

Give More.

Joe