The Hobbit Pt. 2: Does Building Up Belief Require Pain and Discomfort?

As much as we would all love to be Aragorn, Legolas, or Gandalf in LOTR, if we are being honest with ourselves, we are probably more like Bilbo.  We love to find a comfortable spot and make a life for ourselves in it for as long as the world will allow.  Enter the Unexpected Journey.  Like Bilbo, we all need a journey to draw us into the discomfort that's required for growth.Even then, starting out on a journey does not immediately give us a strong hope and belief.  We can get a dose of hope through a Gandalf-like mentor but that will only carry us to our first real conflict in the world outside our hobbit hole.  How might we embrace the discomfort of the journey, taking advantage of each encounter with trolls or goblins to develop a deep sense of hope and belief?