> Why do some people choose to do things like eat spicy foods, watch horror movies, compete in triathlons, fight in mixed martial arts competitions, or climb mountains?<p>Sure they talk later in this article about chosen vs unchosen suffering, but at this point using a word like "suffering" to describe the sensation of having your muscles burn from exertion seems like a good argument for a new word or that their use of the word suffering is a poor choice.<p>I think of Eddie Izzards routine on the word "awesome" is apropo, if a hot dog is awesome, awesome doesn't mean anything. To paraphrase their bit "Setting foot on the moon was awesome! Oh yea? Awesome like a hotdog?"<p>A life without pain isn't a life that exists, but many people I've met have made it into their 40s and later with no appreciable "suffering", and frankly, while it might make them less capable of sympathy and empathy they are often personally better off, stronger, healthier, more capable, less fragile, etc. for having not suffered.<p>Look at any co-hort of children, those who suffer early and often have worse life outcomes. The pain of muscle fatigue or even the bruise from getting punched in the face during a boxing match don't seem serious enough in most circumstances to warrant the moniker of suffering.