Five years ago I was introduced to the idea of every year doing a physical challenge called a Misogi.
Jesse Itzler describes it as - “Doing something so hard one time a year, that has an impact on the next 364 days.”
This year I wanted to take on cycling and chose a distance, time and elevation gain that I have never been even close to completing in the past.
On Saturday I was clipped into my bike at 5:20AM, ahead was 118 miles and 10,800 feet of elevation gain through the front range of the Colorado mountains.
For 9 hours and 11 minutes I rode.
You may be wondering why would someone do this?
I think the root of it is we have it easy.
Things are certainly as physically easy as it is has ever been.
In Michael Easter’s book The Comfort Crisis, he shares that as we experience fewer problems we don’t become more satisfied, we just lower our threshold for what we consider a problem.
In just a few generations we have gone from deep worries of survival and having enough food to little league parents that think the world is ending when the 15 year old referee makes a questionable call.
Turning to self imposed physical challenges is one way to shock the system back into the perspective of how good we truly have it.
Completing a Misogi style event builds both confidence and humility.
On Saturday there were plenty moments that built humility
The Triple Bypass has nearly 4,500 participants and I spent a major portion of the day being passed by all shapes, sizes and ages as they blew right by listening to my wheezing.
My own group spent a good portion of their day waiting at the top of each pass as I made way up the mountain behind them.
Even though the day was spent gaining humility by the end of the Misogi a jolt of new confidence hit.
The type of confidence that is only earned by relying on your mind to take your body farther than it wants to go.
Each time you tackle a new endurance challenge you add to your life resume of things that you are now capable of.
“If we always choose comfort, we never learn the deepest capabilities of our mind or our body” -Wim Hof
If you still aren’t convinced you need to add a Misogi to your life then just do it for the kids.
If you ask my sons, “what does your dad do for work?” they would respond “He does phone calls from his computer.”
That is true, however I doubt they are inspired by what they see going on during those calls.
I strive to set an example of a consistent work ethic for my sons. Being physically fit and completing challenges serves as a tangible example they can follow.
On the drive home, my oldest asked when he could do the Triple Bypass with me and I said how about when you turn 29? He was concerned that it would interfere with his NBA career, but we agreed July is off season and it would be good training and so it should line up well.
I guess that means I have 20 more Misogis to complete so I can be ready for 2043!
Creator Spotlight:
If you are at all interested in a Misogi then read this book!
Michael Easter - Author - The Comfort Crisis
From the inside cover:
“In many ways we’re more comfortable than ever before. But could our sheltered, temperature controlled, overfed, underchallenged, lives actually be the leading cause of many of our most urgent physical and mental health issues?”
That is simply impressive—-your boys are learning a lot as they experience the healthy life of mom and dad. Way to go!
Dang, impressive Jordan! And the training time it must’ve taken to get ready, with 4 kids... nice work!
My dad always made staying fit a priority, and I agree, it definitely inspired me growing up in a very tangible way - seeing him push himself and take care of his body has made me want to do the same.
I think the cool thing about this is not only do your kids get to see you live out your values through this, but they also get to see you live at your edge, pushing your boundaries, and I think it’s rare for kids to get to see their parents in that state.