Misogi for life
- danielherron
- Aug 26
- 2 min read
Be epic. Do epic.
Where to start?
Climb a mountain.
Find a peak, make a goal, and get after it.
Literal or metaphorical.
You were designed to strive not to settle.
🏔️ Last month my sons and I climbed a mountain —14,433 feet— the tallest in Colorado.
This was the most epic thing they’ve yet done in life. Their first Misogi.
16 miles of up and down, aspen forests and wind-raked rock, altitude-induced breathlessness and eccentric-contraction-induced-blown-up-quads.
We pulled ourselves out of suburbia to put ourselves there, on purpose.
To see what we were made of. To experience suffering. And, to truly know fortitude kneaded deep into our sore muscles, to hone our minds, to sooth our emotions, to give purpose to our spirits, and to deepen connections with one another.
❗ All domains of life touched, shaped, integrated.
❗ Physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, relational.
This is what coming to a mountain can do in your life. This is the whole point of Misogi.
Misogi puts you in a space where all of those domains of life are brought together, engaged, tested, refined, and energized.
Michael Easter writes about Misogi in his book “Comfort Crisis”:
It’s about “…using epic challenges in nature to cleanse the defilements of the modern world. These modern misogis offer a hard brain, body, and spirit reboot. They help their practitioners smash previous limits and deliver mindful, centering, confidence and competence…”
As Marcus Elliott, M.D., one of Easter’s interviews, adds, “…trying really hard sh** is purifying and life enhancing.”
One of the ways Misogi can enhance your life is through removing the artificial barriers we often use to compartmentalize life, to cordone off each domain from all the others.
Misogi puts you in a space where all of those domains of life are brought together, engaged, tested, refined, and energized.
At 14,000 feet, 6 hours of hiking in, and 3 hours to go, quitting just isn’t an option.
You’ve gotta find a purpose to the suffering and the resources to overcome it because a helicopter airlift is just to pricey. 🚁
Epic action requires more of your capacity physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, relationally.
Having an epic life isn’t merely about doing really hard sh**, although this is an essential ingredient.
Having an epic life is about bringing all domains of life into confluence with one another as you achieve wellness across them all, optimize energy in each, and as you engage them all in each priority of your day whether that’s guiding your kids, leading your organization, caring for a patient, managing a crisis, or even summitting a mountain.
In this way, Misogi can be a rehearsal space for the rest of life.
What’s your mountain today?
Daniel Herron is the founder of Strive Performance, an Indianapolis-based consulting and coaching firm specializing in leadership formation, organizational culture, team wellness, and whole-life integrated wellness coaching. To learn more about Strive Performance's assessment and coaching process, get in touch. We’d love to listen.
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