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About this quote

What does it mean?
Valery defines a sane person as one who suppresses their chaotic inner thoughts rather than eliminating them.
In plain terms
Mental health is about managing inner chaos, not removing it.
What can you take from it?
Sanity requires managing inner turmoil.

Where it applies

  • mental health
  • self-help
  • psychology

Putting it to work

  • mindfulness
  • emotional regulation
  • therapy

Questions to consider

  • Is sanity about control or acceptance?
  • How do you manage inner chaos?

Another view

This implies mental health is about suppression rather than integration.

More from Paul Valery

  1. A good poet is of no more use to his country than a good petanque player.

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  2. A poem is never finished; it's always an accident that puts a stop to it-that is to say, gives it to the public.

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  3. A businessman is a hybrid of a dancer and a calculator.

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