As long as a man’s mind is settled, his…
As long as a man’s mind is settled, his intellectual spirit quietly stands guard, spreading its light upon his mind as if it were a torch attack the edifice of his body.
— from The Mind in the Cockpit · Cheshbon HaNefesh
In the book
Clear thinking is the master skill beneath all the others — it is what lets you position yourself well in any circumstance, and the plain ability to put your attention where you want it, when you want it, is the quiet engine that drives it. A settled, disciplined mind stands quiet guard over a life, and a life run from that quiet center is steadier in every weather than one run from a loud one. And because the mind is fed like a body, what you put into it today literally shapes the solutions available to you tomorrow — so guard the inputs as carefully as you would guard your food. — The Mind in the Cockpit