THE STORY

I have seventeen open tabs right now. Each one is a different dream, to-do, or idea I'm not pursuing.

There's the podcast concept I've been "refining" for eight months. The business pitch I'm too afraid to send. The job descriptions, the longer-than-3-hour-tasks-and-seventeen-trips-to-home-depot chores.

I'm scattered. Paralyzed by possibility, analysis paralysis.

Do I keep applying to jobs or go out on my own? Do I pitch that company or stay safe? Do I cut a hole in the wall or build the niche? Round and round and round.

It all feels too big. Too vague. Too many moving parts.

So I plan. And plan. And plan some more.

And nothing happens. They’re called ‘open loops’: unfinished tasks you ruminate on that build stress, take up brain space, and never go away.

Here's what I learned during the holidays: I managed to stay healthy by slowing down, drinking less, and seeing fewer people. I gave myself permission to focus on key areas instead of everything at once.

That's where the Japanese concept of Misogi comes in.

The Misogi: One hard thing

Misogi is simple: choose one impossible thing to do each year. Not seventeen things. Not a vague aspiration. One concrete, borderline-crazy challenge that scares you a little, with a 50/50 shot of completion.

Swim across a lake. Run an Ironman. Launch that business. Quit the job you hate.

The magic isn't in the achievement itself. It's in how pursuing one big thing forces you to break it down into bite-sized pieces. Into actual steps you can take today.

When Shohei Ohtani was a high school freshman, he created a Misogi mind map with one goal in the centre: Get drafted 1st overall by 8 Japanese teams (a fast track to the MLB)

Around that goal, he didn't just write "get better at baseball." He mapped out everything—pitching mechanics, body care, mental toughness, personality traits, even karma. He included boxes for "pick up trash" and "show respect to umpires" because he understood that big dreams are built on small, specific actions.

He focused on spin rate before spin rate was cool. He worked on his likability because he knew success requires support from others.

The mind map didn't make the goal smaller. It made it doable.

Make your move

Dreams die in the abstract. They live in the specific.

• "Be healthier" becomes nothing. "Do three 30-minute strength sessions per week" becomes something.

• "Launch a podcast" is overwhelming. "Record a 5-minute test episode this weekend" is actionable.

• "Go out on my own" is paralyzing. "Send one pitch email by Friday" gets you moving.

The Pebble
Your mind map for 2026

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. So, we made you your first bite. A template that is your own Misogi mind map for breaking down that impossible goal into actual steps. It works just like Ohtani's sheet, but for whatever dream is taking up space in your brain.

Write your big goal in the centre. Add eight supporting goals around it. Then fill in the specific, concrete actions that will get you to ticking off the supporting goal.

Here’s the Google Sheet Template. Open it, File> Make a copy, fill it in, and print it.

Put it somewhere you'll see it.

The challenge
Choose your Misogi

What's the one hard thing you're going to do this year?

Then, spend 15 minutes filling out your squares. Break that impossible goal into 8 supporting goals. Then break those into concrete steps—things you could actually put on a to-do list.

Don't make it perfect. Make it real.

Start with step one this week. Just one. That's all.

Happy goal setting.

P.S. Ohtani had a box for "Karma" that included picking up trash and being kind to people. Maybe add that to yours, too. You know, just in case.