Seneca would set aside days to live simply—plain food, rough clothes—then ask himself, is this the thing I feared? Usually it wasn't so bad. He did it to shrink his fears down to size, to prove to himself that he could lose comfort and still be alright. There's freedom in that. So much anxiety is the dread of going without. When you discover, even in a small way, that you can manage with less, the fear loses its teeth. Try it gently today—skip one small comfort, and notice you're still fine. Contentment, it turns out, depends less on having more and more on needing less.

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