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T.H.U.R.S. #12
Physical Danger, Misogi, Cold Plunge Vid
Gabriel Mira
October 24, 2024
Hola and welcome to The Summit, my biweekly newsletter where I share my unfiltered thoughts on navigating the peaks and valleys of adulthood.
My mission is to question everything, grow every day and have fun along the way. The Summit’s mission is to invite you to do the same.
Today: T.H.U.R.S. #12
You may have noticed that there was no Tuesday Deep Dive this week - whaaaaattt? I have decided that I am going to move to one article a week (T.H.U.R.S.) and make it as great and insightful as possible 😽.
Thoughts:
Something light:
Bad things don’t come in three.
Listening to another episode of Modern Wisdom recently, Chris Williamson and Alex Hormozi spoke about how bad things don’t come in three - contrary to the common saying/belief that misfortunes tend to occur in groups.
When it rains, it pours.
Take some simple examples:
You have a crazy heated argument with family/friends. You go into work pissed tf off. You’re rude to your coworkers and find yourself in trouble with management/HR. Your day is going that poorly, that when it is time to drive home, you back out without really looking and smash into a car behind you.
You have an accident. You’re injured, devastated and angry. Your friends and family try their best to keep your spirits up but you’re just sick of everyone and everything. You become so nasty that it damages relationships and leads to a breakup.
You got a little too tipsy/drunk and say some things you probably shouldn’t have. You feel so embarrassed the next day that you cancel plans with your friends and call into work sick. Your negative thoughts and emotions cloud your mind all day and suddenly its 8pm and you’ve done nothing but doom scroll.
Notice any similarities? The first misfortune could be an accident or beyond our control. But the next few… they are all just ripples from the first.
It is easy to see why people think bad things come in three, but it is also easy to see that they don’t need to know. If we can accept the first problem and make a plan to keep moving forward, there is really no need to keep falling deeper into problem #2, #3, #4…
I spoke about this more in the context of basketball in my post about having a Next Play Mentality!
Don’t let things snowball.
Find a raincoat before it pours.
Develop a next play mentality.
Something heavy:
When was the last time you were actually afraid? When was the last time you faced real physical danger? If you don’t experience real physical danger from time to time, you will lose perspective - your mind will create fears out of nothing.
If you haven’t head of Alex Honnold, you might know him from some of his epic feats:
“Alex Honnold is a professional adventure rock climber whose audacious free-solo ascents of America's biggest cliffs have made him one of the most recognised and followed climbers in the world.”
Long story short, this guy is a badass.
He gave a simple example about stress/fear that I thought was hilarious:
“You know those people who get super stressed in airports? Like: OMG we have to check in bags, get through security, find our gate, fill up our waters and eat food in under 3 hours!!! Ahhhh!!!
How do people get so worked up about such small things?”
Now, I am not trying to invalidate anyone’s problems but… Honnold isn’t all that wrong. I spoke about this topic in my article about Hitting Send - often times our great big problems aren’t all that deep.
I don’t think you need to go scale a mountain and put your life in danger (although I must say, it is a lot of fun 😁), but I do think we should all try our best to have some perspective before freaking out about many of our first world problems.
No need to make mountains out of bald hills (I see you Mt Coot-Tha)!
Highlights:
My favourite thing I learnt this week: The Misogi Challenge
The “Misogi Challenge” is about doing something so tough, once a year, that it shapes how you live the rest of your 364 days.
Misogi is traditionally a Japanese Shinto purification ritual with deep cultural and religious significance. The purpose of misogi is to purify the mind, body, and spirit by removing impurities and negative elements.
There is a heap you can read out there about Misogi, but from what I can gather the modernised ‘tradition’ is essentially an annual challenge to push your limits. And apparently, you should strive to pick a challenge that you only have a 50/50 chance of completing…sounds pretty cool hey? 😎
If you’re looking for ideas, here is what ChatGPT suggests 😂:
Here are some more intense Misogi challenge ideas for a once-a-year event:
Physical Endurance Challenges:
- Ultramarathon: Run or hike a distance of 50 miles or more.
- Ironman Triathlon: Complete a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and 26.2-mile marathon.
- Mountaineering Expedition: Climb a challenging mountain peak.
- Survival Challenge: Spend a set amount of time in the wilderness with minimal supplies.
Mental and Spiritual Challenges:
- Solitary Retreat: Spend a week or more alone in a secluded location.
- Silent Meditation Retreat: Meditate in silence for an extended period.
- Pilgrimage: Travel to a sacred site or place of spiritual significance.
Other Challenges:
- Charity-Based Challenge: Undertake a challenging task to raise money for a cause.
- Extreme Sports Challenge: Try a high-risk or adrenaline-inducing sport.
I’ve spoken countless times about the benefits of seeking discomfort through activities such as cold plunging, difficult runs or even scaling mountains - and this is no different.
What should I do as my Misogi this year (is it bad I kind of want to do them all) 🤩?
Uplift:
Something uplifting that I stumbled across and want to share:
Just a cheesy video from one of my favourite Aussie influencers:
The happiest people aren’t happy all the time.
But they will always look for the good.
And they find it more than people who forget to look :)
Reflect:
A question I asked myself this week:
❓️How can I get off my phone more!? I feel like I have been addicted to the thing lately…
💁♂️ My solution: go read Idle Time again! Because most times we need to be reminded more than we need to be taught (thought from last week’s T.H.U.R.S ;).
Summit:
A challenge I set myself: make a cutesie video.
Like I mentioned last week, I want to start pushing my comfort zone by making little inspirational/insightful videos that convey many of the ideas I am expressing in this newsletter!
When I sat down to write today (yesterday), I still had no video out. But hey, I had to stay true to my word, so down to the river I went:
@gabriboo992 Another one for the blog! Gotta practice what I preach ;) https://thesummit24.beehiiv.com
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