Hedonism
The best feeling in the world is a hot shower after returning home from a camping trip. Although that hot shower is immediately rewarding it provides no long term satisfaction. All things that give immediate reward don't seem to be worthwhile, whilst those that require initial effort and aren't immediately rewarding seem to be the most worthwhile in the long term. Eating a block of chocolate gives me some nice momentary mouth pleasure but eating broccoli and working out gives me long lasting fulfillment.
Fire hardens steel, doing difficult things, things that don't bring you comfort are real things worth doing. I like to take cold showers, actually I don't like it but I still do it and it really energises me, puts me in the right mindset and I like to think builds my discipline for other things.
Often the things we least want to do are the things we should actually be doing, that assignment you've been putting off or that run you've been meaning to go for when the weather is right. We all make excuses to avoid doing the things we really should. Time to acknowledge they're just that, excuses
"Man is a creature that can get accustomed to anything,"
It's amazing the conditions a human can live in and still survive, even thrive. Just look at the vast diverse physical landscapes people live in, from the hottest countries along the equator to the icy arctic. The diets of these people are equally vast, yet somehow they all still persist.
One thing this quote reminds me of is that it's just as easy to get accustomed to a cushy life, one without discipline, a life of gluttony, perpetually spinning the hedonistic treadmill. It also serves to remind me that by purposefully adding in discomfort we can gradually become accustom to and build discipline to allow us to excel.