For to be wise is only one thing—to fix our attention on our intelligence, which guides all things everywhere.
—Heraclitus, Quoted In Diogenes Laertius, Lives Of The Eminent Philosophers, 9.1
Why did I do that? you’ve probably asked yourself. We all have. How could I have been so stupid? What was I thinking?
You weren’t. That’s the problem. Within that head of yours is all the reason and intelligence you need. It’s making sure that it’s deferred to and utilized that’s the tough part. It’s making sure that your mind is in charge, not your emotions, not your immediate physical sensations, not your surging hormones.
Fix your attention on your intelligence. Let it do its thing.
* Source: The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman