Forcing children to do difficult, undesirable manual labor from a young age builds foundational character and discipline that pays dividends in later life. While they will hate it at the time, this 'character building' instills a level of resilience that modern children often lack.

Embracing and pushing through severe hardship, rather than avoiding it, forges character. It uncovers your hidden resilience, identifies your loyal allies, and provides a psychological inoculation against future challenges.

Ancient societies universally used rites of passage—difficult, often dangerous, solitary journeys—to transition youth into adulthood. These trials forced them to confront failure and discover their capability, fostering a confidence and competence that modern society struggles to instill without such structured challenges.

Instead of actively 'finding' meaning, undertake a pilgrimage—a long, difficult journey away from distractions. The physical and mental strain weakens your defensive crouch and opens your mind, creating the conditions for your purpose to be revealed to you, rather than discovered through force.

Achieving goals provides only fleeting satisfaction. The real, compounding reward is the person you become through the journey. The pursuit of difficult things builds lasting character traits like resilience and discipline, which is the true prize, not the goal itself.

The capacity for profound joy from simple things is intensified by having experienced life's hardships. Grief provides the necessary contrast that transforms tender moments from being merely "nice" into feeling "life-saving" and deeply meaningful.

The forward-looking philosophies of Emerson, Thoreau, and James (Transcendentalism and Pragmatism) did not arise from idealism, but from grappling with devastating personal loss. Their work was a non-theological attempt to find meaning and beauty in a life filled with seemingly senseless tragedy.

The modern belief that an easier life is a better life is a great illusion. Real growth, like building muscle, requires stress and breakdown. Wisdom and courage cannot be gained through comfort alone; they are forged in adversity. A truly fulfilling life embraces both.

Spending a month in the Arctic, deprived of basic comforts, completely recalibrated the author's perception of daily life. Upon return, simple things like a soft chair, hot water, and mediocre coffee felt like profound luxuries. We fail to appreciate modern life's miracles because our baseline for comfort is too high.