Seneca, who was wealthy, set aside days to eat plainly and live simply, then asked himself: is this the thing I feared? Voluntary discomfort isn't punishment. It's a way to learn that you can handle far more than your worries claim. When you choose a little hardship on purpose, the cold shower, the skipped luxury, the harder route, you find out the floor is lower and safer than you thought. Then the fear of losing comforts loosens its grip. You're not trying to suffer. You're proving to yourself, gently, that your peace doesn't depend on everything going your way.

Inspired by the old idea of voluntary discomfort. Written by Ugo Charles.