My Misogi

I’m not really a resolution kind of kid, and while I certainly ring in the New Year and recognize it as a New Year, it doesn’t have the same gravitas as “back to school” or birthdays as being significant for change.  Does this resonate with others or is this unique to me and my friends? 

Earlier this year I came across a reel by Jesse Itzler - he was talking about 3 things you need to do to change your life; a misogi, something he called “Kevin’s Rule” and one winning habit a quarter.  I saved the reel.  It resonated.  I do that sometimes - see a reel, I like it or think “I want to do/try that” but can’t in the moment for whatever reason.  

While I don’t make New Year’s resolutions - I do like to map out objectives and goals.  I think that’s what I found appealing about the reel … it’s the framework for good planning. 

Enter the google search … I was curious about what a misogi was.  While the word misogi means water cleansing … the current world defines it as something that pushes our limits; mentally, physically, emotionally … It's usually a form of personal development and is meant to be transformative.  Something you remember.  

My goal over the remaining weeks of 2024 is to map out my 2025 misogi.

I love things that can dramatically change your life for the better … that might be one of the other things I loved about the reel … that made it percolate in the back burners of my brain.  The three concepts Jesse talked about are:

1. Misogi: Every year, commit to one life changing thing - starting this blog would be a great example of that.  Putting my voice, my thoughts, out into the world - that was scary!  Consistently writing - putting pen to paper, week after week - that was scary, overwhelming even … but worth it.  Absolutely worth it.  

2. “Kevin’s Rule”: Jesse attributes this to a friend named Kevin.  It’s essentially one mini adventure every 2 months.  It doesn’t need to be costly - just something larger than your everyday.  I’m wildly inconsistent with adventures.  I take them in the form of holidays - so they are certainly memorable.  But I need to be much more diligent about this.  I also need to adjust my thinking on this, I don’t believe this needs to be costly, or elaborate … I think it needs to align with my broader life goals.  I also think, while to start, these will require some thought, longer term these will be easier to create, execute and repeat! 

3. One winning habit every quarter: This one should also align with the person you’re working at becoming; the life you are working at building.  Maybe it is building a meditation practice … maybe it’s weaning yourself off coffee.

Side note: I am not weaning myself off coffee.  Although, I have brought myself back to one cup a day.  But, one cup a day is a good place for me … I enjoy my coffee … not a 2025 winning habit. 

I like this approach, it appeals to how I think and feels like a strategic approach to achieving my goals - aligning the necessary habits with what I’m trying to achieve, to become.  I like the interconnectedness, I like strategic.  

I saw, or read somewhere that your dreams should be delusional but your objectives/goals should be strategic, which I also loved (of course).

So … the remainder of 2024 … I will spend - somewhere between work, holiday parties and festivities - mapping my 2025 misogi, my six “Kevin’s Rules” adventures and my four winning habits.  

In all honesty, I think I have two misogis’ I’m toying with.  Both are important, one scares me a whole lot more … so that, that might be my answer … I also have a sense of some habits - not four, but at least two … truth be told … I think those will be easiest to craft - less easy to execute, but I have a plan for that too.  It’s the mini adventures I’m struggling with the most … which seems crazy, yet here we are. 

I’ve socialized this idea with some friends, so I'm hopeful there are a few we can do together - which makes them feel a little more epic.  

I’ll commit to sharing these on my Instagram feeds as 2025 unfolds … partly to keep me brave and partly to keep me honest.  If I'm committed to sharing - I’m committed.  Not that I should need an audience to commit to building the life I want, but sometimes we let life get in the way, sometimes when it gets hard - we stop.

I don’t want to stop … I want big, I want extraordinary … I want to look back in 50 years and think “I did that, and that, and that.”  I want a mind filled with memories of a life well lived … a life I lived.