--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In 1982, I wrote in my diary that life is…" description: "\"In 1982, I wrote in my diary that life is motion, not joy. If the way you measure success in life is by how much joy it brings you, you're measuring in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7b/mario-cuomo-4807_diary_in-1982-i-wrote-in-my-diary-that-life-is_1473241.jpg" --- # In 1982, I wrote in my diary that life is motion, not joy… ![“In 1982, I wrote in my diary that life is motion, not joy. If the way you measure success in life is by how much joy it brings you, you're measuring inaccurately. Life is also sadness, defeat, striving. It is many things.” quote by Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7b/mario-cuomo-4807_diary_in-1982-i-wrote-in-my-diary-that-life-is_1473241.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7b/mario-cuomo-4807_diary_in-1982-i-wrote-in-my-diary-that-life-is_1473241.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7b/mario-cuomo-4807_diary_in-1982-i-wrote-in-my-diary-that-life-is_1473241.jpg) > “In 1982, I wrote in my diary that life is motion, not joy. If the way you measure success in life is by how much joy it brings you, you're measuring inaccurately. Life is also sadness, defeat, striving. It is many things.” [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success should be measured by a mix of joy, sadness, defeat, and striving, not just happiness. **In simple terms:** Life includes joy and sorrow; both matter. Key Takeaway Embrace the full emotional spectrum of life. Themes balance resilience growth Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - mental health - creative projects - relationship building Key Concepts emotional complexity life philosophy success metrics Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance joy and struggle? - What does success look like for you? A Different Perspective Focusing on joy alone can ignore necessary struggles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Diary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diary/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Inaccurately Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inaccurately-life-5350782/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-joy/) [Life Motion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-motion-950332/) [Measure Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measure-success/) [Motion Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motion-joy-5350783/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Success in life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success-in-life/) ## Related quotes > [“Life Is Always in Motion, So You Cannot Be "Stuck”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/life-is-always-in-motion-so-you-cannot-be-stuck/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [Life is nothing but motion and passes too swiftly for us to observe with the naked eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-laurence-torcuator/life-is-nothing-but-motion-and-passes-too-swiftly-for-us-to-observe/) [Mark Laurence Torcuator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-laurence-torcuator/) > [“Hearts may break, and relationships end, but life goes on. You can't stop life's motion; it's either you let life pass you by or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innocent-mwatsikesimbe/hearts-may-break-and-relationships-end-but-life-goes-on-you-can-t/) [Innocent Mwatsikesimbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innocent-mwatsikesimbe/) > [“Motion is life and life is motion, and a breakthrough is a catapult move that sets goals in motion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-harper/motion-is-life-and-life-is-motion-and-a-breakthrough-is-a-catapult/) [oliver harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-harper/) > [Some desire is necessary to keep life in motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/some-desire-is-necessary-to-keep-life-in-motion/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction, and events without reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/without-a-purpose-life-is-motion-without-meaning-activity-without/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [A Dreamer is a person whose life is in motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-wilkinson/a-dreamer-is-a-person-whose-life-is-in-motion/) [Bruce Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-wilkinson/) > [I tell you to keep going, not because it's easy. Not because it doesn't hurt. I tell you to keep going because there's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/i-tell-you-to-keep-going-not-because-it-s-easy-not-because-it-doesn-t/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [Set high expectations for yourself, but don't whine and be crushed if you don't get your way. Life is in motion, move with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigi-delgenio/set-high-expectations-for-yourself-but-don-t-whine-and-be-crushed-if/) [Luigi Delgenio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigi-delgenio/) > [Remember the only sign of life is motion and growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/remember-the-only-sign-of-life-is-motion-and-growth/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [As u come in my...life ..my life become joy box..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaurav/as-u-come-in-my-life-my-life-become-joy-box/) [Gaurav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaurav/) > [You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psalms-16-11/you-have-made-known-to-me-the-path-of-life-you-will-fill-me-with-joy/) [Psalms 16: 11](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psalms-16-11/) > [To have a fruitful, happy life and give joy to others as well, you have to make yourself happy first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/to-have-a-fruitful-happy-life-and-give-joy-to-others-as-well-you-have/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [“show them, not in reasoning but in life itself, the joy of general union beyond the barriers set up by life itself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/show-them-not-in-reasoning-but-in-life-itself-the-joy-of-general/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [We have become accustomed to living our life with joy amidst pain and challenges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-reeve/we-have-become-accustomed-to-living-our-life-with-joy-amidst-pain-and/) [Dana Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-reeve/) ## More by Mario Cuomo > [There is a respectable body of economic thought that holds that casino gambling is actually economically regressive to a state and a community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/there-is-a-respectable-body-of-economic-thought-that-holds-that/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [We believe in a government that is characterized by fairness and reasonableness, a reasonableness that goes beyond labels, that doesn't distort or promise to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/we-believe-in-a-government-that-is-characterized-by-fairness-and/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [America was born in outrageous ambition, so bold as to be improbable. The deprived, the oppressed, the powerless from all over the globe came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/america-was-born-in-outrageous-ambition-so-bold-as-to-be-improbable/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [The biggest aggravation in the Arab world, the biggest reason for their anger toward us and the creation of those suicide terrorists, is Israel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/the-biggest-aggravation-in-the-arab-world-the-biggest-reason-for/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [Nobody has ever gotten a bigger push than Bill Clinton gave to Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/nobody-has-ever-gotten-a-bigger-push-than-bill-clinton-gave-to-obama/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [It is not a government's obligation to provide services, but to see that they are provided.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/it-is-not-a-government-s-obligation-to-provide-services-but-to-see/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [My favorite thought about Abraham Lincoln is he believed in two things: loving one another and working together to make this world better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/my-favorite-thought-about-abraham-lincoln-is-he-believed-in-two/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [9/11 occurs, and you're going to rebuild, and after awhile, the memory will be there, but there will be something new there, and different,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/9-11-occurs-and-you-re-going-to-rebuild-and-after-awhile-the-memory/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [The Mafia is a question every time an Italian raises his head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/the-mafia-is-a-question-every-time-an-italian-raises-his-head/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [People asked me what I want as an epitaph: 'He tried'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/people-asked-me-what-i-want-as-an-epitaph-he-tried/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [I had not even thought of running for president until one day in 1991, at a small fund-raiser, completely unanticipated, someone stood up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/i-had-not-even-thought-of-running-for-president-until-one-day-in-1991/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [I protect my right to be a Catholic by preserving your right to believe as a Jew, a Protestant, or non-believer, or as anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/i-protect-my-right-to-be-a-catholic-by-preserving-your-right-to/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [I love immigrants. Legal, illegal - they're not to be despised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/i-love-immigrants-legal-illegal-they-re-not-to-be-despised/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [Barack Obama is probably one of the brightest in terms of sheer intelligence... also probably the best orator we've ever had as a president.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/barack-obama-is-probably-one-of-the-brightest-in-terms-of-sheer/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [The American people need no course in philosophy or political science of church history to know that God should not be made into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/the-american-people-need-no-course-in-philosophy-or-political-science/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) [Explore all 105 Mario Cuomo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) ## More Diary quotes > [I don't want to be singing my diary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-jones/i-don-t-want-to-be-singing-my-diary/) [Norah Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-jones/) > [“What a vast fertility of pleasure books hold for me! (...) I think I could happily live here & read forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-vast-fertility-of-pleasure-books-hold-for-me-i-think-i-could/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“The platonic love I feel for my cousin, made me write this diary ...” Leione”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pet-torres/the-platonic-love-i-feel-for-my-cousin-made-me-write-this-diary-leione/) [Pet Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pet-torres/) > [“All right, you caught me. I'm secretly obsessed with you and spend all my free time writing about you in my journal. 'Dear Diary,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-scott/all-right-you-caught-me-i-m-secretly-obsessed-with-you-and-spend-all/) [Elizabeth Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-scott/) > [I'm so open to different things. The only thing I'd say is I've set the bar pretty high in terms of good female roles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bel-powley/i-m-so-open-to-different-things-the-only-thing-i-d-say-is-i-ve-set/) [Bel Powley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bel-powley/) > ["The diary, "My diary. Little Ginny's been writing in it for months and months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes - how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-riddle/the-diary-my-diary-little-ginny-s-been-writing-in-it-for-months-and/) [Tom Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-riddle/) > [A man's diary is a record in youth of his sentiments, in middle age of his actions, in old age of his reflections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/a-man-s-diary-is-a-record-in-youth-of-his-sentiments-in-middle-age-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [I'm never without my personalised Anya Hindmarch diary - I keep my schedule online, too, but my diary is always in my bag. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aerin-lauder/i-m-never-without-my-personalised-anya-hindmarch-diary-i-keep-my/) [Aerin Lauder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aerin-lauder/) > [I keep a diary - one for each film and foreign land I travel to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-mcconaughey/i-keep-a-diary-one-for-each-film-and-foreign-land-i-travel-to/) [Matthew McConaughey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-mcconaughey/) > [Don't read my diary when I'm gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/don-t-read-my-diary-when-i-m-gone/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [I keep a diary because I love this writer, David Sedaris, and he writes a lot about his diary, and he inspired me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-hawke/i-keep-a-diary-because-i-love-this-writer-david-sedaris-and-he-writes/) [Maya Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-hawke/) > [Memory is the diary that chronicles things that never happened or couldn't possibly have happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/memory-is-the-diary-that-chronicles-things-that-never-happened-or/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“What will become of me? I do not know where am I going or what tomorrow will bring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-berr/what-will-become-of-me-i-do-not-know-where-am-i-going-or-what/) [Hélène Berr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-berr/) > [“I use my friends rather as giglamps : There's another field I see: by your light. Over there's a hill. I widen my landscape.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/i-use-my-friends-rather-as-giglamps-there-s-another-field-i-see-by/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I need a moment of time for myself every day, like a child playing with his things. When I travel, I routinely find a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-need-a-moment-of-time-for-myself-every-day-like-a-child-playing/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) [Browse all 453 Diary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diary/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In 1982, I wrote in my diary that life is motion, not joy. If the way you measure success in life is by how much joy it brings you, you're measuring inaccurately. Life is also sadness, defeat, striving. 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