Even when it concerns permissible/amoral things, a person might relish the freedom to decide if they will or will not not engage in a permissible activity that is personally alluring to them. To savor this sense of empowerment, which is their subjective reaction to the objective truth of free will [1], without which there could be no such thing as self-control since the self is forced to believe or act by forces external to the mind, is a legitimate goal in itself as long as there is no fallacious belief present. Someone might go so far as to abstain from something they crave indefinitely, even "knowing" (as much as can be the case, for only probabilistic evidence is accessible here, with conscience being an irrelevant subjective set of perceptions and social norms being arbitrary group habits on their own) that it is permissible, just to experience the fulfillment of being the introspective master or mistress of their own behaviors.
In such a case, it is not the anticipation of finally giving in on some planned or spontaneous date that compels them to do this, though someone who wants to see how long they can maintain their resolve is both volitionally and morally free to do so. It would always be logically possible to go one more moment, but in the sense of perceived inability to continue, finding the "breaking point" could be an introspectively delightful and satisfying experience for someone with the right personality. No, anticipation of an eventual yielding does not have to be the intention. Abstinence not for the sake of moral obligation but expression of personal self-mastery can be entirely rational and empowering.
Now, someone who pursues any and every permissible pleasure--Biblically, this includes any kosher food [2], a host of sexual activities with or without a partner (for instance, what is addressed here [3]), and alcohol use short of drunkenness, as well as friendship and anything from lighthearted to dark entertainment--has not sinned. A pleasure cannot be permissible if seeking or practicing it is immoral! Self-control is only morally mandatory when a person is tempted to believe something false or do something that is itself evil. While this kind of self-control being obligatory when needed already follows by logical necessity from the Torah condemning certain actions and intentions, this is what the New Testament explicitly commends or prescribes (such as in Galatians 5:22-23).
The excitement that can be tied to self-control for certain people can be just as intoxicating as pursuing permissible pleasure with rational, nonsinful motives, all of which would involve motivations other than hedonistic gratification. Hedonism, of course, is the philosophical stance holding that all or most pleasure is good, even the greatest good, or that personal pleasure justifies any/many beliefs or actions, which does not logically follow from something being pleasant or stimulating. On its own, loving pleasure is not irrational or evil, and many pleasures are not Biblically sinful; in fact, one could find great pleasure in knowing the necessary, objective truths of reason, in aligning with righteousness, or in self-control for the sake of individualistic preference. Empowerment related to self-control is even itself about subjective pleasure!
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