--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You remember only what you want to…" description: "\"You remember only what you want to remember. You know only what your heart allows you to know.\" — Amy Tan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a4/amy-tan-730_heart_you-remember-only-what-you-want-to-remem_2870738.jpg" --- # You remember only what you want to remember. You know only… ![“You remember only what you want to remember. You know only what your heart allows you to know.” quote by Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a4/amy-tan-730_heart_you-remember-only-what-you-want-to-remem_2870738.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a4/amy-tan-730_heart_you-remember-only-what-you-want-to-remem_2870738.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a4/amy-tan-730_heart_you-remember-only-what-you-want-to-remem_2870738.jpg) > “You remember only what you want to remember. You know only what your heart allows you to know.” [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memory is selective, shaped by desire and emotional openness, so we recall what aligns with our feelings. **In simple terms:** We remember what we want and what our heart permits. Key Takeaway Accept that memory is biased and seek diverse perspectives. Themes memory psychology emotion identity Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical introspective When to use this quote - personal reflection - therapeutic journaling - relationship building - historical research Key Concepts selective recall emotional gating subjective truth Questions to Reflect On - What important facts might you be overlooking? - How does emotion influence your recollections? A Different Perspective Memory can be unreliable for factual accuracy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Know Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-heart/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remember Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-know-240840/) [Remember Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-want-579978/) [Remembrance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembrance/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-remember/) [What you want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/what-you-want/) ## Related quotes > [“The reason I want to remember this is because I know we'll never be able to do it again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-wakatsuki-houston/the-reason-i-want-to-remember-this-is-because-i-know-we-ll-never-be/) [Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-wakatsuki-houston/) > [One of the problems in the United States is the refusal on the part of our young people to remember or to want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hope-franklin/one-of-the-problems-in-the-united-states-is-the-refusal-on-the-part/) [John Hope Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hope-franklin/) > [I want this to be something I can remember, I want to hear that this can't disappear or never go away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/i-want-this-to-be-something-i-can-remember-i-want-to-hear-that-this/) [Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [“People always put their own spin on things, remember what they want to remember, and somewhere in the middle of it all is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessi-kirby/people-always-put-their-own-spin-on-things-remember-what-they-want-to/) [Jessi Kirby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessi-kirby/) > [People only remember what they want to remember.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ciro-immobile/people-only-remember-what-they-want-to-remember/) [Ciro Immobile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ciro-immobile/) > [People don't really absorb everything they read or hear. 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Things we want to forget, we remember.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/things-we-want-to-remember-we-forget-things-we-want-to-forget-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want you to remember the guiding principles of my life. You can be what you want to be, if you believe in yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirby-puckett/i-want-you-to-remember-the-guiding-principles-of-my-life-you-can-be/) [Kirby Puckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirby-puckett/) > [Even if I seemed to remember, I could not know. For just to remember something is not to know if it really happened. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/even-if-i-seemed-to-remember-i-could-not-know-for-just-to-remember/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## More by Amy Tan > [So sad! This is the saddest part when you lose someone you love- that person keeps changing. 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Your tears do not wash away your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/now-you-see-said-the-turtle-drifting-back-into-the-pond-why-it-is/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I hid my deepest feelings so well I forgot where I placed them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-hid-my-deepest-feelings-so-well-i-forgot-where-i-placed-them/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“Lebih baik jadi orang yang TIDAK TERLUPAKAN daripada orang yang MEMBOSANKAN -”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/lebih-baik-jadi-orang-yang-tidak-terlupakan-daripada-orang-yang/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [After all, Bao Bomu says, what is the past but what we choose to remember?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/after-all-bao-bomu-says-what-is-the-past-but-what-we-choose-to/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [We all become different readers in how we respond to books, why we need them, what we take from them. We become different in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/we-all-become-different-readers-in-how-we-respond-to-books-why-we/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“I was no longer scared. I could see what was inside me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-was-no-longer-scared-i-could-see-what-was-inside-me/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [When I go back and read my journals or fiction, I am always surprised. I may not remember having those thoughts, but they still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/when-i-go-back-and-read-my-journals-or-fiction-i-am-always-surprised/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“I am ashamed she is ashamed. Because she is my daughter and I am proud of her, and I am her mother but she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/i-am-ashamed-she-is-ashamed-because-she-is-my-daughter-and-i-am-proud/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) [Explore all 383 Amy Tan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) ## More Heart quotes > [Against his own will, almost, Will felt himself understanding; he would have done anything, he thought, told any lie, taken any risk, to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/against-his-own-will-almost-will-felt-himself-understanding-he-would/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“He held her like a new woman and what she felt felt almost as good as love had, and each of them called it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/he-held-her-like-a-new-woman-and-what-she-felt-felt-almost-as-good-as/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [My heart jumps out of its cage to see what the fuss is about. 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The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of "shoulds," free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/when-we-are-capable-of-living-in-the-moment-free-from-the-tyranny-of/) [Joan Z. 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