Is the suffering worth it

[FrustratedFool]

Certainly expectation and perception can affect sensation and experience (though not external reality directly).  Of course, since we can't choose how we think it matters little.

I disagree. We can't choose in each moment what we think, but we can choose to adopt habits that make certain thoughts more or less likely. The end result is pretty much the same.

I don't believe in freewill. But if we have freewill, then sure.