Returning back to university can feel as though everyone has a list of things that they should be doing. Exercising more, eating better, making new friends, joining societies, saving money, being more productive – the list goes on. It can be exhausting, and quite frankly pressurising, to listen to this stream of never-ending aspirations. I hold my hands up as being as guilty as anyone else for setting myself a series of unrealistic goals, only to feel disappointed when I inevitably fail to achieve all of them.
Rather than making us feel better, this perpetual pursuit for improvement can leave us feeling as though we are constantly falling short. There is always another skill to learn, a bad habit to break, or another aspect of ourselves that supposedly needs fixing. But, what if instead of attempting to achieve ten different resolutions, we in fact focused on one genuinely difficult or challenging thing? Perhaps the problem isn’t that we’re not trying hard enough, but rather that we’re trying to change too many things at once.
This is where the Japanese concept of Misogi offers an interesting alternative. Traditionally, Misogi refers to a form of ritual purification involving water, and is associated with cleansing the body and spirit. In its contemporary interpretation, the concept has been adapted into the idea of choosing one major ambitious challenge and dedicating yourself to it. However, there is a catch; the challenge should be difficult enough that success is not guaranteed. In other words, rather than attempting to optimise every part of our lives, Misogi asks us to choose our battles wisely. This is perhaps the most appealing part of the Misogi philosophy. In an era where we are constantly told that we should be doing more, we are rarely encouraged to consider what is actually worth our time and energy. Choosing your battles doesn’t necessarily mean avoiding difficult things, but instead it means deciding which challenges are worth embracing.
The modern reimagining of Misogi deliberately places emphasis on the process rather than the outcome. The idea is that your chosen challenge should carry a genuine possibility of failure. This could mean running a marathon when you have never considered yourself a runner, or giving a presentation in front of hundreds of people when you’re scared of public speaking. Despite the concept’s growing popularity within fitness and wellness culture, Misogi doesn’t have to be physical; it could just as easily be creative, intellectual or personal. What matters is that the challenge takes you beyond the boundaries of what feels comfortable.
This introduces the most crucial element to Misogi – failure. We are normally encouraged to set goals that are measured and achievable with the highest chance of success. Failure, in turn, is treated as something to avoid. Misogi does exactly the opposite of this. When there is always a real possibility that you will not achieve your goal, failure becomes an accepted part of the process rather than an example that the entire endeavour was pointless. I’m not saying that failure is something that immediately becomes desirable, but rather that success is no longer the only thing that gives an experience value. You might not complete the marathon or be able to deliver the presentation, but the months spent training or hours spent practicing are not erased by the final outcome. The value lies in discovering your capability to commit to something that you are not guaranteed to achieve.
This is particularly relevant to university life. It can be easy to fall into the trap of believing that we should all be excelling academically whilst simultaneously having a packed social life, exercising regularly, finding work experience, and somehow maintaining enough time to look after ourselves. There is nothing wrong with wanting all of these things, but attempting to pursue all of them at once can make self-improvement feel like a full-time job!
In a culture increasingly obsessed with achievement, there is something refreshing about choosing a challenge without being guaranteed the satisfaction of success. Turning your attention to something meaningful and embracing discomfort can be cleansing in and of itself. In that sense, the real achievement of a Misogi may not be winning the battle at all but instead becoming someone who is willing to fight it.
Photo by Marco Antonio Casique Reyes on Unsplash
