Sayings of the Holy Fathers:

"To become a monk does not mean to abandon men and the world, but to renounce the will of the flesh, to be destitute of the passions. If it was once said to a great spiritual master [St. Arsenios the Great], ‘Flee men and you will be saved’, it was said in precisely this spirit; for even after he fled, he dwelt among men and lived in inhabited regions along with his disciples. But because he so assiduously fled in a spiritual sense at the same time as he fled visibly, he suffered no harm from being with other men. And another great monk [St. Macarios of Egypt] cried as he came out of a meeting, ‘Flee, my brethren!"’ And when asked what he meant by this, he pointed to his mouth"

From St. Nicetas Stethatos

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"...we grapple with this 'law of sin' (Rom. 8:2) and expel it from our body, establishing in its place the surveillance of the intellect. Through this surveillance we prescribe what is fitting for every faculty of the soul and every member of the body. For the senses we prescribe what they should take into account and to what extent they should do so, and this exercise of the spiritual law is called self-control."

St. Gregory Palamas

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"Having resolved to run our race with ardor and fervor, let us consider carefully how the Lord gave judgment concerning all living in the world, speaking of even those who are alive as dead, when He said to someone: Leave those in the world who are dead to bury the dead in body. His wealth did not in the least prevent the young man from being baptized. And so it is in vain that some say that the Lord commanded him to sell what he had for the sake of baptism. This is more than sufficient to give us the most firm assurance of the surpassing glory of our vow."

St John Climacus
["The Ladder of Divine Ascent", Step 2: On Detachment (Boston: Holy Transfiguration Monastery, 1978)]