The promise that “warmth…will follow” highlights the first reward of sustained effort: a subtle change in how life feels. Warmth here suggests comfort, reassurance, and a sense of safety. When you return repeatedly to a practice—writing a paragraph, playing a scale, meditating for a few minutes—the activity gradually stops feeling foreign and threatening. Over time, it becomes a source of solace rather than stress. Montaigne, who often examined his own mind’s fluctuations, knew that familiarity breeds ease; as the fire grows, what once felt cold and inhospitable becomes a place where you can rest and think more clearly. [...]
