Paine isn't celebrating suffering or suggesting that gritting your teeth makes adversity disappear—he's describing something subtler: that the very act of *pausing* to think during difficulty creates strength rather than depletes it. Most people assume trouble demands immediate action or distraction, but Paine insists on reflection as the engine of courage. A surgeon facing a difficult case doesn't become braver by ignoring the stakes; she becomes braver by examining them clearly, turning fear into informed judgment. That distinction—between pretending trouble doesn't matter and actually *thinking* through it—separates genuine resilience from mere performative toughness.