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I'm looking for a word that describes a task or act that you recognise and are accustomed to, but a "familiar task" had a positive colouring which doesn't quite capture what I'm aiming for.

In context, I want the word for a morning ritual which a girl has gone through her entire life, but takes no pleasure in doing so. Specifically, a cold and piercing morning shower to refresh herself.

"For a while, she confides in the familiar, mellow warmth of her bedsheets, but she knows she must get up. Her first choice is the shower, a ___________ that she knows she must do."

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It is not clear whether the OP wants a word to describe a feeling or a task.

The morning ritual -- the cold shower -- which the young girl must perform is a chore. The feeling she has about it is resignation, Merriam Webster

the feeling of a person who is prepared to accept something unpleasant

Example to fit the OP's question:

She approached the chore of her early morning cold shower with resignation.

chore as defined by Cambridge English Dictionary:

a job or piece of work that needs to be done regularly:

By the time he’d finished all the household chores it was mid-afternoon.

A chore is also something that is difficult and unpleasant:

It was a real chore trying to give our dog a bath.

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    I apologise, I was not specific enough. Both are ideal, although I was looking for the word for the task. Many thanks!
    – Tajwar Qurashy
    Dec 29, 2016 at 0:19
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    It depends on the level of displeasure in my opinion. A chore could become an ordeal, or perhaps even torture depending on the level of dislike. If it wasn't actually physically obnoxious, it could also be the tedium of the task, although tedium could also become an ordeal or torture over time..
    – Laughing Vergil
    Dec 29, 2016 at 0:41
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    @TajwarQurashy You may want to edit your question. In your original question, you state that you are "looking for a word that describes a feeling..."
    – miltonaut
    Dec 29, 2016 at 3:43

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