In this solo episode of the No Days Off podcast, host Brian Gubernick revisits the concept of a "misogi" – a self‑chosen, ultra‑challenging physical or mental test designed for personal growth. He explains that a misogi is inspired by ancient Japanese purification rituals but has been modernized by figures like Jesse Itzler and Michael Easter. Brian outlines the core principles: extreme difficulty with a real chance of failure, growth‑orientation, simplicity and focus, and privacy (the challenge should not be broadcast for external validation). He discusses why undertaking such a test builds mental toughness, resilience, self‑knowledge, and a shift in perspective on what’s possible. He then provides a step‑by‑step framework for listeners to select their own 2025 misogi, emphasizing big, passion‑aligned goals, a ≥50 % failure probability, unfamiliarity, and personal meaning. Brian cites high‑profile examples (Itzler’s 100‑mile ultramarathon, Michael Easter’s 33‑day Alaskan isolation, David Goggins’ pull‑up record, Diana Nyad’s 110‑mile swim, Colin O’Brady’s Antarctic crossing) and community examples (the 29029 event, a 12‑hour solo walk, a Texas state‑crossing trek). He offers concrete idea prompts (long distance bike rides, open‑water swims, ultra‑trail runs, massive push‑up challenges, solo wilderness stays, rapid skill acquisition). The episode concludes with a call to listeners to define their own 2025 misogi, keep it private or shared only with a small group, and use it as a catalyst for growth as the new year approaches.
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Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. I want to talk about the misogi today, something we talked about quite a long time ago. You may not remember, you may have missed that episode, so we're going to talk about misogi. You heard that right, M-I-S-O-G-I. OGI Masogi. What is Masogi? What the heck is this? Masogi is a challenging, oftentimes transformative experience that you choose, and it's designed to push you to your limits or beyond, physically push you to your perceived limits. It's inspired by some ancient Japanese purification ritual but it's been modernized or talked about a lot more, popularized by Jesse Itzler, by Michael Easter, who wrote The Comfort Crisis. What it really does is center on a single extraordinarily difficult task that's both mentally and physically demanding. The goal is not necessarily to succeed in the conventional sense, but the objective is to grow through the attempt of the masogi. Okay, so let me, let me walk this back a little bit. Some of you may be like, all right, I'm out. Hold on, pump the brakes. You're not out just yet. Stick with me. So I know exactly what I'm doing in 2025 for my masogi. It is something that is absolutely going to push me to my limits. It is likely to potentially break me. I certainly will not die. I cannot die. But it has— I have a very, very high chance at failure. These are some of the rules of Masogi. Now, why in the heck would I do this? Why would I push myself to that limit? I do it because I have found, as many of you have probably found, that when you push yourself to the brink in anything, to the point of, you know, thinking in your head, maybe I ought to quit, maybe I should tap out. When you push yourself to that limit, you learn an awful lot about yourself. When you push yourself physically or push yourself mentally, when you're doing this single, you know, extraordinarily difficult task, you find yourself in a headspace that maybe you haven't been before. And I have personally experienced what I believe to be growth or change as a direct result of this. And I want more of it. Now, I do, you know, different events. I was just talking yesterday about some endurance events and things like that in yesterday's podcast episode. So yeah, I'm trained to do some of this. But it doesn't matter where you're at right now physically. You can choose your own hard. You don't have to go do what I'm doing or what anybody else is doing. Now you're like, Brian, why haven't you just told me what it is you're doing? One of the rules of misogi is you don't talk about misogi. You don't, you know, you don't share necessarily what you're doing because you're doing it for you. You're holding yourself or pushing yourself. You're not seeking external validation or external accountability. So ideally, not many people or anybody knows about it but you. Now, certainly a few people in my world know because, because they have to play a role in, in me preparing for it, but not many will know, and I'm likely not talking about it. Now, some of the core principles of misogi. As I mentioned, it's got to be extremely challenging. It should push you to a place where failure is genuinely a possibility. Number 2, it needs to be growth-oriented. The task again is much less about accomplishment and it's more about personal growth and transformation. Number 3, it's got to be simple and it's got to have, it's got to have focus. One significant challenge, something that may not have any spectators or any external rewards whatsoever. Why the heck would you do this? I've mentioned a couple reasons why I do it, but just generally speaking, why would you do it? Mental growth. You have to confront and overcome self-doubt. You've got to be resilient. You've got to develop mental toughness. I think another benefit is you're testing your body's limits. Again, it doesn't matter where you're at, you're going to test yourself and you're likely to get prepared for whatever it is you're going to do, so you're going to get healthier along the way. I also think that misogi, a benefit of misogi, it shifts your perspective on certain things. I think achieving or even attempting something extreme like I'm describing can redefine for you what's possible. It could lead to a confidence boost, overcoming fear, overcoming adversity, maybe some more self-belief as a result, maybe more courage as a result. Lastly, at least for me, in the previous years I've been doing this, I think it creates some stories, some memories, and they start to kind of define who you are and how you face life's challenges. So if you're still with me and you're trying to figure out now, okay, how do I choose a masogi for myself? How do I pick the— how do I pick out a masogi for myself? I'm going to give you a couple things to think around. Number 1, set some really big goals. When I said that there's a chance of failure for me, when I— and this is coming from Michael Easter, who really helped me better understand Nasogi, you got to pick something that has at least a 50% chance of failure. You also should ideally pick something that aligns with your passions, something that would excite you, something that you could do that, you know, is going to test physical endurance and is going to test your mental fortitude, but you should kind of be passionate about it too. You also, you know, could benefit by selecting something unfamiliar. So you don't have to rely on past expertise, or so that you don't— so you can avoid it altogether, which really just pushes your comfort zone. Lastly, I think you got to keep it meaningful. And again, I mentioned limiting your audience. Now, Jesse Itzler, who's pretty well known for publicizing or popularizing misogyny— Jesse's run a 100-mile ultramarathon with no, no real training. That was a misogyny for him. Michael Easter, he lived, what, 33 days in extreme conditions in Alaska. That was something that was, that was a masogi for him. It was the isolation, the survival. David Goggins, I don't know, knocked out thousands of pull-ups in a certain amount of time to set a world record. Diana Nyad, you know, her, I don't know if she defined it as masogi, but she would go on extremely long swims. I mean, she swam 110 miles from Cuba to Florida at the age of 64. Colin O'Brady, a friend of No Days Off, walked solo unsupported across Antarctica. These are some extreme versions of well-known people, but people in my world, many, many are listening to No Days Off right now, chose the 29029 event last year as their personal misogi. Good friend of mine, Grant, walked across the state of Texas as his misogi. A number of friends of mine in the Metrics Mastermind world went on the 12-hour walk where you just walk out your front door and just go for 12 straight hours with no phone, all by yourself. Yes, there was mental and physical endurance there. So, it doesn't matter your fitness level. Obviously, be safe. Rule number 2 is you can't die. Rule number 1, gotta have a chance of failure. Rule number 2, you can't die. But you will learn so much about yourself when you push yourself to that kind of level. So, some ideas maybe to get your mind working. Maybe it's biking across a long distance or even your state. Maybe it's swimming across a large body of water. Maybe it's some long, you know, 30K, 50K, 100K trail run. On maybe a trail you've never run before. Maybe it's doing 1,000 push-ups in a day. Maybe it's walking 100 miles in 48 hours. Maybe it's climbing some peak that's beyond your, your typical experience, or, or, or level of experience, I should say. Something you gotta work outside of your comfort zone. Maybe it's some sort of solo adventure. Maybe in the wilderness where you got to spend a few days alone in nature without, you know, the modern conveniences. Or maybe you just select a new skill that you've got to master in 30 days and that's your misogi, something highly challenging. There's so many different things you could do. The bottom line is you've got to pick something that makes you work harder than you've had to work in a long time physically and mentally. And as a result, you'll learn a ton about yourself. So choosing your 2025 misogi, it should be deeply personal. It should stretch your limits in every possible way. Think about maybe what you fear or what you avoid, where you want to grow, and how you can create an experience that changes your perspective on what's possible. On that note, give it some thought. Year's almost over for us. It would be awesome for for you to define what your 2025 Masogi is going to be. I would tell you to share it with me, but remember, ideally you're trying to keep it to yourself or to a small group. That's all I have for you today. The No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening, and remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it.
