For a long time, I thought that my desire to do hard things originated from the weird, warped up culture that comes with a strict, religious, calvinistic upbringing. Along the lines of the more you suffer in this life, the better the next one will be. However, more and more scientific research shows that we need to do hard things and suffer while struggling to achieve the goal in order to feel satisfaction and happiness in life. Rather than living a life of leisure, we need to struggle and suffer to feel good about ourselves. As anyone knows who has run a marathon, it is not fun to do so. Especially after 30 kilometers or so, when the pain arrives and you get hit by the man with the hammer, the last stretch feels endless and the body hurts. And yet, once you cross the finish line the satisfaction is amazing and it lasts for months after. Whereas modern culture seems to advocate a Wally style, “avoiding all kinds of exertion” approach to living, it is actually the other way around. So, ask yourself this: what is the next hard thing that I will take on?