Discomfort

[Beliefofmine]

There are clear benefits from withstanding discomfort and hardship. So the question is, should we seek it out? Do you seek it out?

 

[Black Rose]

recovery is all that matters.
there is a threshold of nonrecovery. in fact, severe disability.

 

[Beliefofmine]

Isn't that the idea behind ying and yang? Good and evil? Without one you can not have the other. I would agree that recovery from the discomfort is good, however we rarely think about recovery from the good? We view staying in one side of the dichotomy as bad, as illustrated by your idea of recovery, a transitory position as we move between the dichotomy, however we make a mental exception for the state we view as good, do we not?

 

[Black Rose]

extraverts are stimulated from without, introverts are stimulated from within. to go in the opposite direction is like a prolapse. the extravert that may not care about cold showers to the introvert is a trauma because they CAN'T absorb it. No matter how cold the extrovert will absorb but the introvert will never absorb to the same degree.

discomfort just can't be pushed past unless you are designed to absorb it.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

The idea that suffering ennobles us or makes us stronger or better is a load of crap. If you look at the happiest and healthiest people in this world they have experienced very little suffering and actively avoid it, which is a smart move on their part.

I know people who suffered most of their life and they are bitter, cynical and tired, they may be good people but the hardship made them distrustful and defensive.

It's often said that children are wise beyond their age after they've gone through a lot of bad things. They are nothing but wise, they are frightened, quiet, anti-social, depressed, distrustful, cynical or hateful (these are all bad things even if you appreciate some of them). The only wisdom that they've gained is the understanding of human capacity to harm others, they just know about the evil.

It could be argued that when one is already an adult it's enough to experience great hardship exactly once and not more than that. It may give the person a strong reference point to value what they have and never get any close to bad things again.

 

[CuriousMonk]

The first thing is - discomfort and hardship are the facts of life. They're bound to come irrespective of the fact if one seeks them or not. What we can do is to learn from them when they come. Another thing is we should not let them overtly get over us, for then they convert into suffering. We have to be bigger than the hardships and work towards what we want to achieve in life. If one keeps their focus on hardship and discomfort, as @Glaerhaidh said they may become 'too wise' and acquire an acrid perspective towards life.

Another thing is everyone in life has a goal. If the pleasure induced by thinking of a ripped body is bigger than the pain of going to the gym, then the person will actively seek out that discomfort, but just as a temporary resort to achieve their goal. We can say that one may have to actively engage in uncomfortable work, however, it will sting less if you're extremely passionate about your goal. So, basically, it's about passionately seeking the goal, and thorns on the path will sting less.