Crafting My Own Version of an Ancient Japanese Ritual

Read time: 10 minutes

Welcome to The Ascend Archives Tuesday Tale, a weekly newsletter where I share a story about a transformation, revelation, or change in thinking that has helped improve an aspect of my life.

New Year’s Day 2023: I was watching a recording of Jesse giving a keynote speech while waiting to board my flight at the Miami airport.

That year-defining thing…He called it a misogi - an idea he took from an ancient Japanese ritual.

He had me. I was all in. I told myself I’d do this for the rest of my life.

I had just completed my 2022 misogi without realizing: 10 days alone backpacking the W-Trek in Patagonia.

Then, 2023 was the first time I could be intentional with my misogi. I decided in January that I would quit my corporate job by the end of the year. I had no idea when or how it would happen. But sure enough, 5 months later I submitted my resignation letter.

For 2024, I decided on a physical feat that a couple of years ago I could never have imagined signing up for. An Ironman 70.3 in Morro Bay, California. 1.2-mile swim. 56-mile bike. 13-mile run.

Year Defining Activity

I love the idea of having one thing each year that I can look back on and say “Yeah, I did that”.

We all have big moments like the year we graduate college, get married, or have a kid. But what about all those years between?

Suppose I think back to 2015. What did I do in 2015 that was really cool? That I was proud of? Nothing comes to mind.

By being intentional with misogis, I can look back on 2023 in 10 years and be like, hell yeah that was the year I became an entrepreneur. And when I’m 70 years old to have 40+ of those things with the stories that come with it?

That’s priceless.

The Origins of Misogi

Turns out Jesse took this concept of misogi and really made it his own.

The misogi is actually a traditional Shinto purification ritual to cleanse your mind and body in a pond filled with cold water.

By cleansing yourself in this sacred pond, you can reconnect with the natural world.

I didn’t understand how Jesse came up with his version of doing a year-defining challenge. That was until I heard another spin on misogis from Dr. Marcus Elliott on My First Million.

The Two Rules of the Misogi

Dr. Elliott is a Harvard doctor focused on the development of elite athletes. He worked with the New England Patriots during their dynasty years and NBA superstars like Luka Doncic.

Michael Easter wrote about Dr. Elliott’s misogi philosophy in his book The Comfort Crisis.

While Jesse plans his misogis and they can be any type of challenge, Dr. Elliott has a different definition:

Once a year, go out into nature and do something really hard. Mimic the challenges that humans evolved to face.

Really hard means you have a 50/50 chance of completing it.

Don’t die means don’t die.

Dr. Elliott elaborates:

Let me give an example.

Recently, Dr. Elliott, alongside 2 other guys, carried an 85-pound rock 3 miles underwater along the coast of Santa Barbara. They would dive down, pick up the rock, run as far as they could, and drop it for the next guy to pick up. It took them 5 hours.

How he came up with that idea, I have no clue. But, Dr. Elliott believes the misogi should be something uncommon so that it becomes specific to you. The misogi is about the internal process of challenging yourself and not the external validation. There’s no training or preparation. He just picks a day and does something hard.

Reframing my Misogi

Jesse and Dr. Elliott have interesting perspectives on the misogi.

I like setting a goal, putting it on the calendar, and working towards it.

I also see value in picking a random day and attempting to conquer a difficult feat.

As Connor McGregor says, “Stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready”

This got me thinking about positioning, a concept I learned from Shane Parrish. Life is uncertain. We can make plans, but there are so many things out of our control that preparation can only get us so far. That is why positioning for the unknown is so critical. For example, increasing cash savings, eating healthy, and surrounding ourselves with great people can help us make decisions from a position of strength.

What if I combine Jesse and Dr. Elloitt’s philosophies with the positioning framework?

By training for my year-defining Ironman 70.3, I am positioning myself health and fitness wise to do cool shit.

This weekend in Austin is the Cap10k (the largest 10k in Texas). My friend Jack asked our group chat if anyone wanted to sign up last minute. It’s a fun event downtown with live music, food, and thousands of runners. Since I’m already training, a 6-mile run is just another Tuesday afternoon workout for me. So it was an easy yes for me to participate.

But 3 years ago? I would have never wanted or been able to run 6 miles on a whim.

I have another friend who texted me the other day, “So when are we climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro?”

My response…

”Name a time”

My previous misogis have been:

1. Gaining experience on a multi-day trek in Patagonia

2. Leaving corporate so I’m now in control of my schedule

3. Training for an endurance race so I’m in great shape

My misogis have helped position me to say yes to climbing the tallest mountain in Africa without having to give it much thought or effort.

Final Thoughts

For me, a misogi can be a planned year-defining challenge or a random hard thing I say yes to.

Thus far, my misogis have been difficult but I’ve had time to prepare and was confident I would complete them. But Dr. Elliott talks about only having a 50/50 chance of completing it.

My homework is to figure out what is something I can do this year that I have a 50% chance of failing at?

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I encourage you to think about your take on a misogi.

• What is your 2024 year-defining challenge?

• How can you position yourself to say yes the next time your friend says, let’s go on a trip this weekend or a concert tonight or hike this mountain?

• How can you position yourself to handle the unexpected hard things life will throw at us?

My man Jesse sums it up well:

Do something so hard one time a year that it impacts the other 364 days. - Jesse Itzler

jesseitzler

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Thank you for reading! As always please reply and let me know what resonated, what didn’t, or what you question. I love chatting about this stuff!

Cheers,

Andrew