Ep 80 | Misogi & Accomplishing One Big Thing with Brian Gubernick

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. Let's get into it. Today I want to talk about the concept and the Japanese term known as masogi. So recently at No Days Off, we've been spending time talking a lot about mindset, talking a lot about limiting beliefs, and the steps we can take to build a possible mindset, a limitless mindset, and overcome our limiting beliefs, grow personally, grow spiritually, grow physically and mentally, and push past a lot of our self-imposed barriers. Well, along those lines, I wanted to share about the concept of misogi and how you can apply it to your world. So the word misogi, M-I-S-O-G-I, misogi is a Japanese term that refers to a form of physical or spiritual purification and self-discipline. It's this old traditional practice that goes way back in Japanese history and has been adopted in many different forms today by many different individuals and individuals that are just looking to develop, to grow personally. I heard about this term in a book I've mentioned not too long ago known as The Comfort Crisis, and I heard it again just this past week when I was reading a little bit about Jesse Itzler, who, who's an amazing entrepreneur, sold Marquis Jet, owns the Atlanta Hawks, is minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks, has written a number of bestsellers, and is married to an amazing woman, Sara Blakely, female billionaire and founder of Spanx. And as I was learning more about Jesse Itzler, because he'll be speaking at an upcoming event that we have, I came across Jesse and his thoughts around misogi, and it just reminded me about the term and how it was leveraged in, in Comfort Crisis. And, and it's a practice. It involves engaging in some challenging or extreme activity, and the idea is that in engaging in this challenging and extreme activity, you can cleanse yourself from impurities. Call it spiritual impurities, physical impurities, And, and really it's about attaining a sense of renewal. Again, when you challenge yourself to that level, you're able to confront, you're able to overcome certain fears or weaknesses or limitations. So these misogi rituals, and, and as Jesse Itzler describes it, what, what he looks for when he talks about misogi, what he's really saying is or challenging, you know, those that follow him. He's challenging those individuals to do one big thing every single year to define their year. Do one thing that's just so big, it's so defining that you just can't forget it. Like you maybe forgot just 3 days ago, or 7 days ago, or 22 days ago, But if this is the right event, the right challenge, and it's the big masogi for you of the year, it's something you'll never forget. And so Jesse's challenge is figure out what your big obstacle, what your big thing is going to be for the year, and go and do it and create an incredible memory. So for me, this year I happen to be participating in an event called 29029, which is a hiking event where you have 36 hours to climb 29, just over 29,000 feet. 29,029 is the height of Mount Everest. And so the event, we go to, my event happens to be in Snow Basin, Utah. A few friends and my wife are joining me there, and we will be hiking 29,000 feet, and it's got to be accomplished in 36 hours. So we're hiking up a Snow Basin ski mountain, ski hill. You go up, you take the gondola down. You go up, you take the gondola down. And it's 36 hours to complete 29,000 feet. Odds are it's going to take every bit of those 36 hours to complete this challenge, which means maybe no sleep, which means different aches and pains and having to overcome certain things in my mind and all of that. All these things were what I'm expecting, similar things to what I've experienced in some past endurance events, but maybe to the most extreme level. And I share that because when I complete it, yeah, it'll be a great accomplishment. However, it's a big thing that's going to define my 2023. It's something that while I may not remember a lot of what occurred in the year, I certainly will remember that. And the challenge that I'm going to be confronted with mentally and physically, how I'm going to have to overcome limiting beliefs. And mind you, I'm a guy that talks about it all day long, but I know they're coming. How I'm going to find myself in some dark spots at times, but I'll have to work through it. These things, this ritual, this misogi ritual, it's going to push me. And it's gonna define my year. Now traditional misogi rituals are things like standing beneath a waterfall in freezing water, or hiking up a sacred mountain, or performing any other long or strenuous, strenuous, I'm sorry, physical exercise. Maybe for you it's running a half marathon, something you never thought you could do. Maybe it's running a marathon. Maybe it's, you know, going on a 100-mile bike ride, something that you think is damn near impossible, but pushes you to the brink. That's what masogi's all about. Now, if that's the one big thing for defining the year, I wanna challenge you, in addition to doing that, to maybe do something smaller every other month. Jesse actually refers to these as mini experiences. So if you're doing something every other month during the year, you have 6 mini experiences, and then you have this misogi, this one big event of the year that challenges you and pushes you. I'll tell you, the experiences plus that big event makes for a remarkable, very memorable year. So I know this may sound a little out there for some of you, but for others, right up your alley. I would ask you the focusing question for today. What can you sign up for in the next— that's to occur in the next 12 months that's going to push you to that limit? It's going to push your mind, push you physically, and it'll define your next 12 months. Maybe it's not an event you sign up for, but what physical challenge do you have in mind? Maybe it's just you and you alone. Maybe it's, you know, a 12-hour walk like Colin O'Brady talks about. And that event defines your year. I could tell you when I did the 12-hour walk at the beginning of this year, even though it was not necessarily physically strenuous, it was certainly mentally strenuous for me. And I would call that very much a masogi. So what other things might you be able to do that push you beyond your comfort zone, that force you to break through mental barriers, and that help you achieve a higher state of consciousness. Sounds out there, but I dare you to try it. Focusing question: What could you go after? 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.