--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Keeping an active mind has been vital to…" description: "\"Keeping an active mind has been vital to my survival, as has been maintaining a sense of humor.\" — Stephen Hawking" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/stephen-hawking-389_active_keeping-an-active-mind-has-been-vital-to_1597004.jpg" --- # Keeping an active mind has been vital to my survival, as… ![“Keeping an active mind has been vital to my survival, as has been maintaining a sense of humor.” quote by Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/stephen-hawking-389_active_keeping-an-active-mind-has-been-vital-to_1597004.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/stephen-hawking-389_active_keeping-an-active-mind-has-been-vital-to_1597004.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/stephen-hawking-389_active_keeping-an-active-mind-has-been-vital-to_1597004.jpg) > “Keeping an active mind has been vital to my survival, as has been maintaining a sense of humor.” [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Keeping the mind active and humor alive supports mental health and coping with challenges. **In simple terms:** Active mind and humor aid survival. Key Takeaway Engage curiosity and laugh often. Themes mental health humor cognitive resilience Mood hopeful lighthearted Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - stressful work - illness - loneliness - aging Key Concepts neuroscience psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does humor change your perspective? - What mental activities keep you sharp? A Different Perspective Humor may not suit all situations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Sense of humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-of-humor/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) ## Related quotes > [I question and soul-search constantly into myself to be as certain as I can that I am fulfilling the true meaning of my work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-question-and-soul-search-constantly-into-myself-to-be-as-certain-as/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I think it's always challenging to look at a script and make it your own while maintaining the sense of what the style of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-boreanaz/i-think-it-s-always-challenging-to-look-at-a-script-and-make-it-your/) [David Boreanaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-boreanaz/) > [Keep your spirits up and yourself even higher...its vital to survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/keep-your-spirits-up-and-yourself-even-higher-its-vital-to-survival/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Keeping active is always a good thing. Pushing yourself to new boundaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/keeping-active-is-always-a-good-thing-pushing-yourself-to-new/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are keeping healthier and living longer and I am a good example of someone who is in the Age Concern bracket but is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hampshire/we-are-keeping-healthier-and-living-longer-and-i-am-a-good-example-of/) [Susan Hampshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hampshire/) > [While keeping active is a major aspect of staying fit, what you use for fuel definitely factors in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-samuelsson/while-keeping-active-is-a-major-aspect-of-staying-fit-what-you-use/) [Marcus Samuelsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-samuelsson/) > [Not only does exercise keep the body young, but it also keeps the mind vital and promotes emotional well-being. The important thing is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/not-only-does-exercise-keep-the-body-young-but-it-also-keeps-the-mind/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [What you call the psychic being is the mind of the vital. The heart is the seat of this mind. And this mind is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/what-you-call-the-psychic-being-is-the-mind-of-the-vital-the-heart-is/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [Even modern medical researchers have come to the conclusion that peace of mind is vital for good health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/even-modern-medical-researchers-have-come-to-the-conclusion-that/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“I have been fairly misunderstood by those who think only of the heart and thereby leave the mind behind. 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It's as simple as understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/the-first-step-toward-maintaining-autonomy-in-any-programmed/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) ## More by Stephen Hawking > [The doctor who diagnosed me with ALS, or motor neuron disease, told me that it would kill me in two or three years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-doctor-who-diagnosed-me-with-als-or-motor-neuron-disease-told-me/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [We are the product of quantum fluctuations in the very early universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/we-are-the-product-of-quantum-fluctuations-in-the-very-early-universe/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [The human race does not have a very good record of intelligent behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-human-race-does-not-have-a-very-good-record-of-intelligent/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“We have finally found something that doesn’t have a cause, because there was no time for a cause to exist in. 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Science will win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/there-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-religion-which-is-based-on/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“In the eighteenth century, philosophers considered the whole of human knowledge, including science, to be their field and discussed questions such as: Did the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/in-the-eighteenth-century-philosophers-considered-the-whole-of-human/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [A model is a good model if first it interprets a wide range of observations in terms of a simple and elegant model, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/a-model-is-a-good-model-if-first-it-interprets-a-wide-range-of/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“Empedocles noticed that if you cover the neck before you immerse it, a clepsydra does not fill. 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Whole foods are the best for you when you are super active, so I get plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witney-carson/i-eat-healthy-most-of-the-time-whole-foods-are-the-best-for-you-when/) [Witney Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witney-carson/) > [Art shows us how to see things that are constructive and good, and to be an active part of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-shows-us-how-to-see-things-that-are-constructive-and-good-and-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Love, like truth and beauty, is concrete. Love is not fundamentally a sweet feeling; not, at heart, a matter of sentiment, attachment, or being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-heyward/love-like-truth-and-beauty-is-concrete-love-is-not-fundamentally-a/) [Carter Heyward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-heyward/) > [Studying Sol's interior by looking for analogous patterns on its incandescent face is known as helioseismology, an active - if largely unpronounceable - research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/studying-sol-s-interior-by-looking-for-analogous-patterns-on-its/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Science manipulates things and gives up living in them. It makes its own limited models of things; operating upon these indices or variables to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/science-manipulates-things-and-gives-up-living-in-them-it-makes-its/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [I stayed in L.A. long enough to get on my feet, and then I moved back to New York. The reason I moved here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-stayed-in-l-a-long-enough-to-get-on-my-feet-and-then-i-moved-back/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [The answer to any challenge you are having has nothing to do with God's willingness to help. It has to do with your acceptance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beckwith/the-answer-to-any-challenge-you-are-having-has-nothing-to-do-with-god/) [Michael Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beckwith/) > [Pete Townsend for me was a huge influence. 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That's always easier once you've made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-brownlee/you-need-to-enjoy-yourself-and-just-get-into-the-routine-of-keeping/) [Alistair Brownlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-brownlee/) Browse all 2,212 Active quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Keeping an active mind has been vital to my survival, as has been maintaining a sense of humor.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Hawking" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/keeping-an-active-mind-has-been-vital-to-my-survival-as-has-been/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Active" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/keeping-an-active-mind-has-been-vital-to-my-survival-as-has-been/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/stephen-hawking-389_active_keeping-an-active-mind-has-been-vital-to_1597004.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/stephen-hawking-389_active_keeping-an-active-mind-has-been-vital-to_1597004.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02a/stephen-hawking-389_active_keeping-an-active-mind-has-been-vital-to_1597004.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Keeping an active mind has been vital to my survival, as has been maintaining a sense of humor.” — Stephen Hawking", "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": "Stephen Hawking", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Keeping an active mind has been...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/keeping-an-active-mind-has-been-vital-to-my-survival-as-has-been/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/keeping-an-active-mind-has-been-vital-to-my-survival-as-has-been/#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 } } ] } ```