Pardon me if this is overly philosophical but aren't we here to get better, not simply cruise along and take the path of least resistance? I'm serving as a mentor for a student in the business school right now. He had to take two months away from school because of a family crisis and is trying to finish his course work from fall and winter semester in the next 2 months (I don't know how he arranged that with his professors). In spite of the difficulty, he is grateful for the challenge and recognizes the benefits this will afford him down the road.

Good timber does not grow with ease,
The stronger wind, the stronger trees.
The further sky, the greater length.
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.