I am very mindful of terms that are rooted in a culture, religion or practice being brought into a different context and reapplied. One example is ‘misogi’—a Japanese Shinto practice of ritual purification.

The term ‘misogi’ has become a term now used in different self-improvement communities for certain kinds of challenges that encourage you to push yourself to overcome perceived limitations. Often this comes with talk about it being so hard that there is a real chance of failure (e.g. a 50% success rate).

The reason I’m making a post about this, aside from more nuanced discussions about language, is that it has come up as a reference point with some of my first Questful participants. I get why—they are awesome people, dedicated to growing and testing themselves in all kinds of ways.

But I really don’t see Quests as a kind of ‘creative misogi’.

I do, however, think that our own unique relationships to ‘hard’ is central to designing and sustaining Quests.

One key difference, both in my own Quests, and when working with my Questful participants, is that I won’t settle for a gritting-it-out kind of hard. That is just one flavour of hard.

For sure there is going to be challenge, and yes some people might not finish. But there is a true opportunity for a fabulous, hard-fun dance.

I stand by:

“Make it hard enough to matter—and fun enough to finish.”

Are you able to do that? To take a Questul approach—where you balance the hard of showing up and keeping your commitment, with a fun and friendly approach to getting it done.

It cuts against perfectionism. It cuts against binary or all or nothing thinking (—I’ll do it like this or not at all!) It cuts against doing hard things, no matter the cost to ourselves or others.

It becomes a more complex, but ultimately rewarding dance, that helps us enjoy the doing, not just the getting it done. A different kind of challenge. One that helps us unlock a lot of creativity.

I’m not saying that I think the ‘misogi’ challenges aren’t interesting or valuable. I just think that they’re different. They’re one kind of rewarding and hard.

You get to choose what kind of adventure you want right now, and why. You get to choose the kinds of experiences you want to unlock for yourself.

If you’d like my help designing and completing a Quest that’s totally you, and infused with fun, you’re welcome to contact me here.

P.S The picture is of Hoagy, a labradoodle I rescued at two, and who lived me with me until he was a very old boy. He gave the word ‘fun’ a whole new meaning, and at a level I continue to aspire to!