on suffering & discipline

To suffer is to undergo; usually by an external agent. Discipline is self-imposed suffering with intelligent design oriented toward greater purpose. Feelings experienced while suffering are the death throes of addiction to homeostatic comfort within oneself. It is not a matter of if we will suffer in this life but how and why we will suffer. So then, one must conclude that effort to avoid suffering is null and what matters most is one’s chosen attitude toward the suffering, whether external or self-imposed. Aristotelian virtue ethics would indicate that attitude is a mindset/outlook that can be practiced and cultivated into becoming one’s character. So then, if suffering at the will of external reality is inevitable and what matters most is how we suffer: then to condition oneself through practiced discipline in preparation for this eventuality must be both good and necessary. With this understanding, it is best to practice chosen disciplines with a heart full of purpose, a good temperament, and a stoic mindset in order to best prepare for the suffering imposed by external reality. Perhaps this is the only choice we have in the context of suffering. Perhaps virtue based discipline holds the keys to freedom from suffering.