You understand the Misogi concept. One goal. One year. Year-defining challenge.
But here's where most people get stuck: actually choosing the thing.
It feels like a lot of pressure. If you're going to commit an entire year to one pursuit, you want to get it right. What if you pick something too easy? What if it's too hard and you fail? What if you realize halfway through that you chose wrong?
This paralysis is normal—but it's also solvable. Here's a practical framework for choosing a Misogi that will genuinely transform your year.
The Four Criteria (Revisited)
Before we dive into the selection process, let's clarify what makes a goal a true Misogi versus just a resolution or vague intention. (If you're not familiar with why resolutions fail, that context is helpful here.)
1. It Scares You a Little (But Excites You More)
The right Misogi sits at the edge of your comfort zone. When you imagine completing it, you should feel butterflies—a mix of "can I really do this?" and "I really want to try."
Too easy: "Read 10 books this year" Too hard: "Summit Everest" (if you've never climbed) Just right: "Complete a half-marathon" (if you've never run one)
The fear is important. If there's no fear, there's no growth. But the excitement is equally important. If it's all fear and no desire, you'll quit when things get hard.
2. It's Specific and Measurable
You should know, with zero ambiguity, whether you succeeded.
Vague: "Get in shape" Specific: "Run a sub-4-hour marathon"
Vague: "Write more" Specific: "Complete a 60,000-word first draft"
Vague: "Learn Spanish" Specific: "Have a 30-minute conversation with a native speaker without switching to English"
The specificity isn't about being rigid—it's about being honest. Vague goals let you constantly move the goalposts or declare partial victory when you haven't really achieved anything.
3. It Takes Most of the Year
A Misogi isn't a weekend project or a one-month challenge. It should require sustained effort over months. This is what creates the transformation and makes the year memorable.
If you can complete it by February, it's not a Misogi. If it doesn't require you to show up consistently for months, it won't define your year.
4. It's Genuinely Yours
This might be the most important criterion—and the easiest to get wrong.
Your Misogi should resonate with you. Not with what you think you should want. Not with what would impress others. Not with what your friends are doing or what sounds good on social media.
If you pick a Misogi because it sounds impressive at dinner parties, you'll quit in March. If you pick one because it genuinely excites you, you'll find a way to keep going when things get hard.
The Selection Process
With those criteria in mind, here's a practical process for choosing your Misogi.
Step 1: Generate Candidates (Don't Filter Yet)
Set a timer for 10 minutes. Write down every potential Misogi that comes to mind. Don't judge. Don't filter. Don't worry about whether they're realistic or impressive or aligned with the criteria.
Just brainstorm.
Think about:
- What have you always wanted to do but never made time for?
- What would make you genuinely proud to accomplish?
- What scares you in an exciting way?
- What did you want to be when you grew up?
- What do you admire in others that you wish you could do?
- If you had guaranteed success, what would you attempt?
Aim for at least 15-20 candidates. The goal here is volume, not quality. (Need a starting point? Browse our 50 Misogi challenge ideas for inspiration.)
Step 2: Apply the Fear/Excitement Test
Go through your list and rate each option on two dimensions:
Fear (1-10): How scared are you of attempting this? Excitement (1-10): How excited are you about completing this?
Now plot them (mentally or literally). You're looking for options that score high on both—probably 6-8 on fear and 7-10 on excitement.
Cross out anything with:
- Low fear AND low excitement (boring)
- High fear AND low excitement (dread)
- Low fear AND high excitement (too easy to be transformative)
What remains are your viable candidates.
Step 3: Check for Authenticity
For each remaining option, ask yourself one brutal question:
Would I pursue this if no one would ever know I did it?
If the answer is no—if the main appeal is the reaction you'd get, the Instagram story, the bragging rights—cross it off.
Authentic motivation is essential for long-term commitment. External validation feels good for about two weeks. After that, you need internal drive.
Step 4: Reality-Check the Logistics
Now it's time to get practical. For each remaining candidate, consider:
Time: Do you have enough hours in your week to pursue this? Training for a marathon requires 5-10 hours weekly. Writing a novel might require 10-15 hours weekly. Be honest about your schedule.
Resources: What do you need? Equipment? Money? Access? A running Misogi requires decent shoes. A climbing Misogi might require courses and guides. Make sure it's feasible.
Constraints: What could prevent you from completing this? Injury? Travel for work? Family obligations? Consider the realistic obstacles.
This isn't about eliminating challenge—it's about eliminating Misogis that are impossible given your actual life circumstances.
Step 5: Imagine December 31st
Here's the final test: close your eyes and imagine it's December 31st.
Picture yourself having completed each candidate Misogi. Really feel it. You crossed the finish line. You typed "The End." You reached the summit.
Which completion generates the strongest emotional response? Which makes you feel most proud? Which changes how you see yourself?
That's probably your Misogi.
Common Selection Mistakes
As you go through this process, watch out for these common pitfalls:
Picking Something "Impressive"
Choosing a Misogi because it sounds cool to others is a recipe for abandonment. You don't need external validation—you need internal motivation. The best Misogi is one that matters deeply to you, even if no one else would understand.
Choosing Based on Should
"I should lose weight." "I should read more." "I should learn to meditate."
Should-based goals come from obligation, not desire. They feel heavy, not exciting. If the primary emotion around a potential Misogi is guilt or obligation, keep looking.
Going Too Safe
If your Misogi doesn't scare you at all, it's too easy. The whole point is transformation, and transformation requires pushing beyond your current limits. Mild discomfort isn't enough—you need genuine challenge.
Going Too Extreme
On the flip side, choosing something almost certainly impossible is a form of self-sabotage. If you've never run more than a mile, an ultramarathon isn't a Misogi—it's a fantasy. Your Misogi should be ambitious but achievable with genuine commitment.
Picking Too Many
This is the most common mistake. The temptation to do "just two or three Misogis" defeats the entire purpose. The power of the approach comes from singular focus. One goal. One year. That's it.
If you can't choose between two finalists, pick the one that scares you more. Jesse Itzler, who popularized the modern Misogi, calls this the 50% rule: your Misogi should have about a 50% chance of success.
What If You Choose Wrong?
Here's something important: there's no perfect Misogi.
The goal isn't to optimize your way to the theoretically ideal challenge. It's to commit fully to one meaningful pursuit and see it through.
If you get three months in and realize you've made a mistake—that this particular challenge isn't right for you—you have options. You can pivot to something related. You can acknowledge the lesson and adjust.
But don't use this as an escape hatch. The dip (that period around month 3-4 where motivation fades) isn't a sign that you chose wrong. It's a predictable phase of any meaningful pursuit. Most people quit during the dip and convince themselves they "chose the wrong thing."
Real choosing wrong looks like: pursuing something solely to impress others, or selecting something you truly have no interest in. That's worth correcting.
Feeling demotivated for a few weeks during a challenge you genuinely care about? That's normal. Push through.
The Commitment Moment
Once you've chosen, there's one more crucial step: commitment.
Write your Misogi down. Be specific:
"In 2025, my Misogi is to complete the Chicago Marathon in under 4 hours."
"In 2025, my Misogi is to write and finish the first draft of my novel, minimum 70,000 words."
"In 2025, my Misogi is to achieve conversational fluency in Portuguese, measured by a 30-minute conversation with a native speaker."
Then tell someone. The moment you declare it, it becomes real. Public commitment dramatically increases follow-through—not because of shame, but because of identity. You become "the person doing that thing."
And finally: start today. Not January 1st. Not next Monday. Today. Even if it's just 10 minutes. Even if it's just research. The first action breaks the seal and transforms your Misogi from intention to reality.
Track Your Chosen Misogi
The Misogi app is designed for exactly this moment—when you've chosen your one thing and you're ready to pursue it.
- Lock in your Misogi with a clear description and target
- Break it into daily actions that move you forward
- Log each day you show up and watch the year grid fill
- Stay accountable with a community doing hard things
One goal. 365 opportunities to show up. That's the whole system.
Key Takeaways
- Use the four criteria: scares you (a little), excites you (a lot), specific, measurable, takes most of the year, genuinely yours
- Generate many candidates before filtering—aim for 15-20 initial ideas
- Use the fear/excitement matrix to find the sweet spot
- Reality-check logistics without eliminating challenge
- The December 31st visualization reveals what actually matters to you
- Avoid should-based goals, external validation traps, and the temptation to pick multiple
- Once chosen, commit publicly and start immediately
- The dip is normal—don't confuse it with choosing wrong