ever try setting a new year’s goal? A new year’s resolution?
It wasn’t enough.
Most don’t stick with it.
My shift was when I learned about what a Misogi is,
Throw New years resolution’s out the window because the Misogi is taking over…
Why?
Because it just makes sense for us humans and how we operate – the struggle part – even though we might not like that, it’s what we crave..
Here’s my story on how I got into running, it was because of my Misogi…
What even is a Misogi?
The main thing you gotta know about it is that you do something SO HARD for one day, that no matter what happens the other 364 days – the year was a W.
Think about it, what if we did one thing so miserable that the rest of the year was a breeze?
How much value would that bring us?
Misogi translates to water cleansing, a practice some cultures do annually – it’s a whole thing, taking a long hike – a pilgrimage – standing in freezing cold water, going through a ‘purification.’
That purification part is what we are after with this Misogi..
Think how simple this concept is…
When was the last time you truly hopped on the struggle bus?
Better yet, when’s the last time you did a struggle bus thing willingly?
People live so easily today – food delivered in under 10 minutes, sitting behind desks, no physical labor, hangnails hurt…
we’re becoming soft.
When was the last time you struggled so hard, you cried? Maybe you thought you might die?
2019 was the first year I practiced this Misogi concept: Run a Marathon.
I was taking Jesse Itzler’s build your life resume course towards the tail end of 2018 and this was one of the prompts he had us answer – what is your misogi for this year?
Fast forward to November 25, 2019, and I went through the physically hardest few hours of my life.
I was miserable, I cried, I was toasted – I never felt like that before.
Even though I trained for most of the year – I didn’t train correctly – I didn’t know what I was doing.
I remember being at Mile 18, 8 more miles to go? I regretted what I was doing to my body…
I was thinking about all the hours I spent training, and quitting popped into my mind – every step, I’m in so much pain.
This was HARD AF and I wish I never even heard of Jesse Itzler or this stupid Misogi thing
But then something magical happened.
I crossed the finish line, got through the low point of the race, AND MADE IT TO THE M!@#$%^F$%#$ FINISH
My toes WERE bruised, I lost a toenail, I felt like a tin man, couldn’t walk normally for a week…
But as the next week came – nothing seemed to be as hard as it was.
I mean c’mon, I just ran a freaking marathon, blew up, made it to the finish, and lived to tell the tale? At the time, that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
Where has the Misogi taken me?
I was immediately hooked on the misogi idea and thought I would never feel as beat down as I did after that marathon…
What would be harder than running a marathon?
Double it.
So my 2020 misogi was to “Double it” and run a 50-mile race. Success.
“Double it”
Dec 31, 2021, was my first 100-mile race… success.
“Double it”
Sept 29, 2022, was my first 200-mile race… success.
See I like running because it is such a mental activity… I mean really, running a marathon? Crazy. 50 miles? Bat shit Crazy. 100 miles? Insane. 200 miles? GTFO.
Never did I ever think I would be running a mile in my life, I mean I never ran before any of this. I signed up for that first marathon without any experience and gave myself a year to train for it, I was absolutely terrified.
Looking back, running has brought tremendous value and growth into my life, and countless others too.
- Dealing with adversity
- Pushing past limits
- Planning and preparing
- Executing
- Daily grind
- Self-confidence
- Ambition
- Happier
- Productive
- Clarity
What else?
Double it?
Double it doesn’t have to be your thing.
Why did I double it?
In the spirit of Misogi and pushing boundaries…
It’s brought exponential growth into my life….
See, it’s funny
if we consciously choose hard? Life is easy.
And if we choose easy? Life is hard.
We’ve all heard that before – or intuitively know that at the least.
Why do we choose easy over hard though? Out of habit, comfort, fear…
Break out of that shell. Start small, think big.
What do you think?
Maybe this year – in addition to writing our goals and reflecting on the past year…
Maybe we could write a plan to do something we hate or is so hard and we know it will bring value to us in the end… aka setting a Misogi
Choose your hard.
What’s your misogi for this next year?
Joe DiAndrea 