Each year Japanese Shintoists make pilgrimages to waterfalls and bodies of water throughout the country to participate in a sacred purification ritual known as misogi. They submerge themselves (or sometimes just take a drink) and cleanse their bodies of pollution, welcoming in a new spirit. Then they do it again the next year.
There is also a more western idea of misogi. It involves facing an incredibly tough or seemingly impossible challenge each year—one day on the calendar from which you’ll benefit for the other 364.
I first learned about both definitions from Jesse Itzler, the entrepreneur/ultra runner/author who has spent the past six months coaching me every week through the 30 Days of Excellence program he leads with former Navy SEAL/ultra runner Chadd Wright and former NFL player Marq Brown. Jesse encourages everyone who’s part of the program to participate in a misogi event. I haven’t gone through a year where I’ve done it yet, but I’m looking forward to it in 2021.
I’ve never been big on New Year’s resolutions because I don’t think they make much sense. They seem destined to fail from the start because of poor planning. But misogi is a different story. I have a goal set—a half-Ironman in September that I’m doing with my wife—and it’ll take a lot of work.
This year I ran my first 50k, so I’m not worried about the half-marathon. The 50+ miles of cycling will work out, too. The swimming, though. That’s the whole reason I made this race my misogi event of 2021. I’ve spent my whole life wrestling with asthma and less-than-healthy lungs. Running consistently has helped, but as I learned when I participated in a sprint triathlon at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena few years back, the water is still a big hurdle for me.
Frankly, swimming over a mile in open water terrifies me. But that’s the whole point of misogi. You want to make it something so lofty, so scary that it seems like there’s no possible way you’re going to complete it.
Even if it seems unlikely right now, I know in the back of my mind that if I work hard for the nine months prior to the race I’ll get to where I need to be. And when it’s over and I’ve accomplished this feat I didn’t think I could, that achievement is going elevate me for the rest of the year and beyond. Misogi!
What’s something that terrifies you that you don’t think you could do? Why not give it a try anyway in 2021? Something I’ve learned again and again recently is that we’re capable of a lot more than we think we are. Keep that in mind and move toward your own misogi goal. You might just surprise yourself with what you accomplish.