The Comfort Crisis introduced me to a concept that has been quietly challenging me ever since: Misogi.
Author Michael Easter describes Misogi as a Japanese tradition of doing something so hard—at least once a year—that you have roughly a 50% chance of failure. Not something uncomfortable. Not something inconvenient. Something that genuinely stretches your capacity. Something that forces you to confront who you are when things get hard.
When I read that, I paused.
Because if I’m honest, I’ve done hard things. I’ve completed 75 Hard a couple of times. I’ve done a couple hundred-hour fasts. I’ve sat in 40–50 degree ice baths for 20 minutes in my own bathtub. I took cold showers in college while selling books door-to-door in the summer heat.
I’ve proven to myself that I can endure discomfort.
But here’s what bothered me: I wasn’t regularly training for difficulty.
I was capable of hard.
But I wasn’t consistently choosing it.
And for someone who believes in Relentless Pursuit, that realization didn’t sit well.
Enter: The Nine-Day Fast
Tomorrow, I begin my longest fast to date.
From Monday night dinner through Thursday morning breakfast the following week—approximately 220 hours.
Nine days.
No food. Water only.
And before you think this is about discipline for discipline’s sake, let me share the three reasons behind it.
1. The Misogi Standard
This is my yearly stretch.
A Misogi isn’t meant to be safe. It’s meant to feel uncertain. It’s meant to carry the possibility of failure.
A nine-day fast is the hardest fasting endeavor I’ve attempted. It will challenge me physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. There will be moments when the voice in my head says:
“This is unnecessary.”
“You’ve already proven enough.”
“No one would blame you for stopping.”
That voice is precisely why this matters.
Because leadership begins with self-leadership. And self-leadership demands that we occasionally put ourselves in arenas where comfort is not an option.
2. Lent and Spiritual Surrender
Christians around the world are currently in the season of Lent—forty days of preparation leading to Easter. Traditionally, Lent is marked by fasting, abstinence, and reflection.
Many people give up sugar. Or social media. Or alcohol.
Those are meaningful. They create space.
But this year, I felt called to something deeper. Something that would require dependence. Something that would force prayer when I’m weak. Something that would require me to die to self in a very tangible way.
During these nine days, I will also be praying a novena—nine consecutive days of focused prayer. The alignment felt intentional.
Nine days of physical emptiness.
Nine days of spiritual filling.
Fasting has always been less about food and more about focus.
Hunger becomes a trigger for prayer.
Weakness becomes a reminder of dependence.
Discomfort becomes a doorway to surrender.
This fast is not about proving strength.
It’s about practicing reliance.
3. Autophagy and the Physical Component
There’s also a physiological reason.
Autophagy—the body’s cellular “clean-up” process—has been widely studied in fasting research. Some experts suggest it begins as early as 18 hours into a fast. Others argue that it increases significantly in the three-to-seven-day range, especially in a true water fast state.
While there are varying scholarly opinions on the exact timeline, the perspective I gravitate toward suggests that extended water fasting in the 3–7 day window may maximize autophagic processes.
Nine days extends beyond that window—but it’s not just about optimization. It’s about intentionality.
This isn’t biohacking for novelty.
It’s stress with purpose.
The Deeper Question
When I read about Misogi, the real conviction wasn’t about fasting.
It was this:
When was the last time I chose something that scared me?
Not something I knew I could complete.
Not something I’d already proven.
Something uncertain.
As leaders, entrepreneurs, parents, and professionals, it’s easy to settle into competence. We operate in arenas where we are skilled. We execute tasks we’ve mastered. We manage known variables.
And slowly, subtly, our growth plateaus.
Not because we aren’t disciplined.
But because we aren’t stretching.
Relentless Pursuit isn’t about busyness.
It’s about intentional strain.
Strain grows capacity.
Comfort maintains it.
Training for Hard Things
Here’s what I know:
Hard things build resilience.
Resilience builds confidence.
Confidence builds courage.
Courage expands calling.
But resilience doesn’t magically appear when crisis hits. It’s trained.
You don’t build endurance in the storm.
You build it before the storm.
For me, this fast is training.
Training my mind to sit in discomfort without negotiating.
Training my body to operate without constant satisfaction.
Training my spirit to lean in when the flesh wants out.
And I won’t romanticize it. I expect moments of irritability. Fatigue. Brain fog. Temptation to quit.
I also expect clarity.
Stillness.
Gratitude.
Perspective.
Because when you strip away excess, what remains becomes obvious.
What’s Your Misogi?
Maybe yours isn’t fasting.
Maybe it’s launching the business.
Having the hard conversation.
Signing up for the race.
Writing the book.
Making the investment.
Admitting the mistake.
Starting the habit.
Ending the excuse.
A Misogi doesn’t have to be dramatic.
It just has to matter.
It should carry enough uncertainty that success is not guaranteed.
That’s the point.
If you already know you can do it, it’s not a stretch.
If you’re comfortable, you’re not expanding.
If there’s no risk of failure, there’s no opportunity for growth.
No Plans to Bail
I’m starting tomorrow.
I have no plans of quitting early.
But I also recognize this is the hardest fast I’ve attempted. And that awareness is healthy. It keeps me humble.
Over the next nine days, I’ll be updating this blog with daily reflections:
What’s going well.
What’s challenging me.
What I’m learning.
Not because I want applause.
But because growth is worth documenting.
Because the unfinished leader never arrives.
She stretches.
She risks.
She trains.
She refines.
Once a year, choose something that makes you uncomfortable enough to question yourself.
And then lean in.
Stay Relentless.
Journal
Day 1 – 3/3/26 • Woke up tired • Got a little hungry around lunch time, made tea and prayed • Hungry around 3 • Reclined my seat in the car and closed my eyes while my son was at a lesson • Walked on treadmill for 1.14 miles, felt slow; was able to speed up after putting salt in my water; finished 3mi at 7:45 • First 24 hrs complete
Day 2 – 3/4/26 • Woke up slight headache, drank water w/ salt, stations off the cross • Did 1.2mi on treadmill at 1.8 speed (pace was slow, which was good for fasting and for working) • Vibration plate for 15min • Still a dull headache, walked another 1.3 • Day 2 complete
Day 3 – 3/5/26 • Sleep disrupted (the previous two nights as well), woke up at midnight and 3 (with light headache), woke up before 7a alarm no headache though • Walked 1.3mi • Dull headache returned, sipping tea • Walked 1.7mi • Tired (napped for 45min) and hungry• I just want time to pass • Headache, I’m grouchy
Day 4 – 3/6/26 • Woke up at midnight with major headache, caved and took an excedrin, finally slept well until 5am (I always need less sleep when fasting, is that cortisol 😳 or because I’m not bored down by sugar? L) • Just remembered I have a guest in town Monday and Tuesday, being with others is when fasting is emotionally hardest – I guess this is the “offer it up”, spiritual growth part 🫤
Day 5 – 3/7/26 • Woke up early • Got my 3mi walk in before recording the podcast • Getting a little sluggish as the day progresses; was very tired and slow walking while shopping • Started biotin for my hair (iykyk); I *am* doing supplements which some fasting purists would oppose • Dull headache creeping around 4p
Day 6 – 3/8/26 • My ankles and calves feel the least puffy they’ve been since I can remember • Took some potassium in the form of no-salt and cream of tartar (a pinch each) • A little flush at mass• Honestly felt great today, a minor bout of the tireds, but decent energy, a little weak when I was carrying some bricks, but got several projects done as well as my daily objectives, including waking 3mi • Developed my post-fast plan as well
Day 7 – 3/9/26 • Sorry, no updates, it was pretty easy
Day 8 – 3/10/26 • Went to brunch with friends, just drank tea, delightful! • Feeling great, though, got some hunger pangs, they passed after drinking • Decided to extend to 10- day
Day 9 – 3/11/26 • Not really much to report cause I feel pretty dang good • Hunger, pangs come, but leave really quickly • My energy is good. I’m on the treadmill, as I write this • While I want to be done just because I like food, I don’t have any desperation to be done • Guys, guys, GUYS! I just discovered of i go until 630pm Friday night it’ll actually be 11 days. ELEVEN DAYS!!! I’m stoked. I’m going for it. Do one more!
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