--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: her mind was still picking away like a…" description: "\"“her mind was still picking away like a hen at a patch of plain dirt.”\" — Ella Carey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/ella-carey-101351_dirt_her-mind-was-still-picking-away-like-a-h_118732.jpg" --- # her mind was still picking away like a hen at a patch of… ![“her mind was still picking away like a hen at a patch of plain dirt.” quote by Ella Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/ella-carey-101351_dirt_her-mind-was-still-picking-away-like-a-h_118732.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/ella-carey-101351_dirt_her-mind-was-still-picking-away-like-a-h_118732.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/ella-carey-101351_dirt_her-mind-was-still-picking-away-like-a-h_118732.jpg) > ““her mind was still picking away like a hen at a patch of plain dirt.”” Ella Carey ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A mind that fixates on trivial, dirty thoughts is like a hen pecking at plain dirt, wasting energy on the mundane. **In simple terms:** Obsessive thoughts are unproductive. Key Takeaway Redirect focus from trivialities to meaningful pursuits. Themes mindfulness productivity mental health focus distraction Mood reflective motivational Type Dirt:0 Heart:0 Psychology:0 Like Hen:0 Plain Dirt:0 Mind Picking:0 Picking Away:0 When to use this quote - therapy - creative work - daily planning Key Concepts cognitive patterns behavioral habits Questions to Reflect On - What “dirt” occupies your thoughts? - How can you shift to more nourishing ideas? A Different Perspective The analogy may oversimplify mental health complexities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dirt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirt/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [Do not give, as many rich men do, like a hen that lays her eggs ...and then cackles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/do-not-give-as-many-rich-men-do-like-a-hen-that-lays-her-eggs-and/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Mr. Jesmond made a peculiar noise rather like a hen who has decided to lay an egg and then thought better of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/mr-jesmond-made-a-peculiar-noise-rather-like-a-hen-who-has-decided-to/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [Why fly like a hen when you can soar like an eagle?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/why-fly-like-a-hen-when-you-can-soar-like-an-eagle/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Money is for doing things, my love. Don't sit on it like a hen sits on an egg. It doesn't hatch. I should know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/money-is-for-doing-things-my-love-don-t-sit-on-it-like-a-hen-sits-on/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [We are constituted a good deal like chickens, which, taken from the hen, and put in a basket of cotton in the chimney-corner, willoften…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-are-constituted-a-good-deal-like-chickens-which-taken-from-the-hen/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Truthfully, I love being in the jungle. I love it when the make-up artists come to set, they come equipped with dirt and sweat.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/truthfully-i-love-being-in-the-jungle-i-love-it-when-the-make-up/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > [Her father had taught her about hands. About a dog's paws. Whenever her father was alone with a dog in a house he would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/her-father-had-taught-her-about-hands-about-a-dog-s-paws-whenever-her/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [They only wanna do you dirt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-kingston/they-only-wanna-do-you-dirt/) [Sean Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-kingston/) > [I dish the dirt out, and I can take it. But why should my mother and children have to take it? In 20 years,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-clarkson/i-dish-the-dirt-out-and-i-can-take-it-but-why-should-my-mother-and/) [Jeremy Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-clarkson/) > [I love the little garden in the back of my family's brownstone in Brooklyn. 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It speaks to the hard-working guy, and I'm excited for the fans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/dirt-road-diaries-in-my-mind-is-a-perfect-country-guy-song-it-speaks/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [“We have grace of strength to work, to clear our cities of any dirt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-have-grace-of-strength-to-work-to-clear-our-cities-of-any-dirt/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) ## More by Ella Carey > [“We all need to work out who we are. But at the same time, we are all labeled from birth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-carey/we-all-need-to-work-out-who-we-are-but-at-the-same-time-we-are-all/) Ella Carey Explore all 2 Ella Carey quotes ## More Dirt quotes > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [“We have grace of strength to work, to clear our cities of any dirt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-have-grace-of-strength-to-work-to-clear-our-cities-of-any-dirt/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > ['Dirt Road Diaries,' in my mind, is a perfect country guy song. 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Whenever her father was alone with a dog in a house he would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/her-father-had-taught-her-about-hands-about-a-dog-s-paws-whenever-her/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [Truthfully, I love being in the jungle. I love it when the make-up artists come to set, they come equipped with dirt and sweat.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/truthfully-i-love-being-in-the-jungle-i-love-it-when-the-make-up/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > [I grew up in the south, poor - on rock, dirt roads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-turner/i-grew-up-in-the-south-poor-on-rock-dirt-roads/) [Tina Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-turner/) > [But we've all ended up giving body and soul to Africa, one way or another. Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Texas is a hell hole, man. Dirt, cactus, lizards, dirt, cactus, the Bush family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/texas-is-a-hell-hole-man-dirt-cactus-lizards-dirt-cactus-the-bush/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [“Chapter One: The world is flat. I know it is, because for the last five hours the view has been exactly the same. Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-p-dahlke/chapter-one-the-world-is-flat-i-know-it-is-because-for-the-last-five/) R.P. Dahlke > [“ground where it smells like ice and metal and dirt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/ground-where-it-smells-like-ice-and-metal-and-dirt/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) [Browse all 991 Dirt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“her mind was still picking away like a hen at a patch of plain dirt.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ella Carey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-carey/her-mind-was-still-picking-away-like-a-hen-at-a-patch-of-plain-dirt/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dirt" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-carey/her-mind-was-still-picking-away-like-a-hen-at-a-patch-of-plain-dirt/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/ella-carey-101351_dirt_her-mind-was-still-picking-away-like-a-h_118732.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/ella-carey-101351_dirt_her-mind-was-still-picking-away-like-a-h_118732.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/574/ella-carey-101351_dirt_her-mind-was-still-picking-away-like-a-h_118732.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“her mind was still picking away like a hen at a patch of plain dirt.” — Ella Carey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ella Carey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-carey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“her mind was still picking away...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-carey/her-mind-was-still-picking-away-like-a-hen-at-a-patch-of-plain-dirt/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-carey/her-mind-was-still-picking-away-like-a-hen-at-a-patch-of-plain-dirt/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```