Every couple of years, there seems to be a new viral challenge that emerges on social media.
From 75 Hard, The Winter Arc, The Shred, to simple (but not easy) 30 or 60 day challenges.
A couple years ago, my friends and I came across one that was completely different from all the other challenges.
The Misogi.
The Misogi challenge is an annual event that is designed to be the hardest thing you do that year.
The rules are simple - there has to be a 50/50 chance you either fail or succeed.
You get to pick the date, the setting, and the activity - but you have to be honest with yourself to choose something that will truly be the hardest thing you do that year.
My friends and I did our own Misogi last year. (see photos below)
In the middle of nowhere west Texas at my buddy’s ranch, we decided to cut down a 500-pound oak tree and carry 2.4 miles back to the cabin.
We started at 11AM, in the middle of June at the peak heat of the day.
By noon we had cut down the tree with one axe shared between the four of us.
The 2.4 mile journey had begun.
With the shape and roughness of the log, it took an immense amount of energy just to get the 500-pound log onto our shoulders.
With the hard wood and sharp bark tearing into our shoulders, we could only carry it for 50 yards at a time.
After 7 hours of cutting down the tree, lifting the log, and carrying it on our shoulders - we had made it one full mile.
Not even halfway to our destination.
We had failed.
But that is the point of the Misogi.
We pushed ourselves beyond our physical and mental limits.
We gave it everything we had, knowing that success was not guaranteed.
We purposely created the most challenging activity we could think of and we did not back down.
The Misogi has now become a tradition in my life.
If this is the first time you are hearing about it, I challenge you to try your own Misogi challenge.
It is one of the best (and hardest) things you can do for yourself.
Go out and do something hard. Go out and make a difference.
P.S. Shout out to the boys
