---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Keeping a journal is like taking good…"
description: "\"Keeping a journal is like taking good care of one’s heart.\" — Ted Kooser"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/ted-kooser-16216_care_keeping-a-journal-is-like-taking-good-ca_1107141.png"
---

#  Keeping a journal is like taking good care of one’s heart.

![“Keeping a journal is like taking good care of one’s heart.” quote by Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/ted-kooser-16216_care_keeping-a-journal-is-like-taking-good-ca_1107141.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/ted-kooser-16216_care_keeping-a-journal-is-like-taking-good-ca_1107141.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/ted-kooser-16216_care_keeping-a-journal-is-like-taking-good-ca_1107141.png)

> “Keeping a journal is like taking good care of one’s heart.”

[Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Journaling nurtures emotional health by allowing self‑reflection and processing of thoughts, akin to caring for the heart.

**In simple terms:** Writing protects emotional well‑being.

Key Takeaway

Write regularly for self‑care.

Themes

self‑care reflection writing

Mood

reflective calming

Type

self‑help philosophical

When to use this quote

- daily journaling
- therapy sessions
- stress management
- creative projects

Key Concepts

psychology mindfulness emotional health

Questions to Reflect On

- What emotions surface when you write?
- How does journaling affect your decisions?

A Different Perspective

Writing alone may not resolve deep trauma; seek professional help if needed.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Keeping a journal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeping-a-journal/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/)

## Related quotes

> [I suffered from a quite severe speech impediment when I was young, and keeping a journal was part of the therapy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-fetherling/i-suffered-from-a-quite-severe-speech-impediment-when-i-was-young-and/)

[George Fetherling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-fetherling/)

> [I've been keeping a journal since I was in the seventh grade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/i-ve-been-keeping-a-journal-since-i-was-in-the-seventh-grade/)

[Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/)

> [“At certain periods it becomes the dearest ambition of a man to keep a faithful record of his performances in a book; and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/at-certain-periods-it-becomes-the-dearest-ambition-of-a-man-to-keep-a/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [I feel happy to be keeping a journal again. I've missed it, missed naming things as they appear, missed the half hour when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-feel-happy-to-be-keeping-a-journal-again-i-ve-missed-it-missed/)

[May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/)

> [It is this delightful habit of journalizing which largely contributes to form the easy style of writing for which ladies are so generally celebrated.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/it-is-this-delightful-habit-of-journalizing-which-largely-contributes/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [If you feel like keeping a journal-that neither you nor anyone else on earth will ever want to read-be my guest. But if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-masello/if-you-feel-like-keeping-a-journal-that-neither-you-nor-anyone-else/)

[Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/)

> [I've never been one for keeping a journal, so my songs were my journals. They allowed me to express my feelings and let people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-ve-never-been-one-for-keeping-a-journal-so-my-songs-were-my/)

[Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/)

> [Whether you're keeping a journal or writing as a meditation, it's the same thing. What's important is you're having a relationship with your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/whether-you-re-keeping-a-journal-or-writing-as-a-meditation-it-s-the/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

> [Writing is another powerful way to sharpen the mental saw. Keeping a journal of our thoughts, experiences, insights, and learnings promotes mental clarity, exactness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/writing-is-another-powerful-way-to-sharpen-the-mental-saw-keeping-a/)

[Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/)

> [“Perhaps you are not sitting in this room, and I am not sitting by you. These are points in which a doubt is equally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/perhaps-you-are-not-sitting-in-this-room-and-i-am-not-sitting-by-you/)

[Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/)

> [I guess whatever maturity is there may be there because I've been keeping a journal forever. In high school my friends would make fun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/i-guess-whatever-maturity-is-there-may-be-there-because-i-ve-been/)

[Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/)

> [ Keeping a \[journal\] need not be a major chore-just a few minutes of notes each day can be valuable. Writing crystallizes insights, fools the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-n-walsh/keeping-a-journal-need-not-be-a-major-chore-just-a-few-minutes-of/)

[Roger N. Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-n-walsh/)

> [Keeping a journal will change your life in ways that you'd never imagine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/keeping-a-journal-will-change-your-life-in-ways-that-you-d-never/)

[Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/)

> [Keeping a journal implies hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/keeping-a-journal-implies-hope/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [I sometimes start keeping a journal about the writing process itself. Particularly when I get the ideas, and I am trying to brood over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/i-sometimes-start-keeping-a-journal-about-the-writing-process-itself/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

## More by Ted Kooser

> [The poem is the device through which the ordinary world is seen in a new way - engaging, compelling, even beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/the-poem-is-the-device-through-which-the-ordinary-world-is-seen-in-a/)

[Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/)

> [If you can find two poems in a book, it could be a pretty good book for you. You know, two poems you really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/if-you-can-find-two-poems-in-a-book-it-could-be-a-pretty-good-book/)

[Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/)

> [There's nothing wrong with delighting in what you do. In fact, most of the fun you'll have as a poet will come about during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-delighting-in-what-you-do-in-fact-most-of/)

[Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/)

> [“Considering the ways in which so many of us waste our time, what would be wrong with a world in which everybody were writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/considering-the-ways-in-which-so-many-of-us-waste-our-time-what-would/)

[Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/)

> [When she left me I stood out in the thunderstorm, hoping to be destroyed by lightning. It missed, first left, then right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/when-she-left-me-i-stood-out-in-the-thunderstorm-hoping-to-be/)

[Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/)

> [Every poet gets to choose what kind of community he or she serves with the poems, and it's true that there is a community…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/every-poet-gets-to-choose-what-kind-of-community-he-or-she-serves/)

[Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/)

> [I had in effect been thrown out of graduate school because I was a lousy graduate student, and I had to find a job,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/i-had-in-effect-been-thrown-out-of-graduate-school-because-i-was-a/)

[Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/)

> [When I was a kid, I suppose I got more praise for being able to draw things and paint things than I did for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/when-i-was-a-kid-i-suppose-i-got-more-praise-for-being-able-to-draw/)

[Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/)

> [If I don't take the risk, I'll wind up with a bloodless poem. I have to be out there on the edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/if-i-don-t-take-the-risk-i-ll-wind-up-with-a-bloodless-poem-i-have-to/)

[Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/)

> [There's always been what I would call the William Carlos Williams strain, in which poems of simplicity and clarity are valued by a different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/there-s-always-been-what-i-would-call-the-william-carlos-williams/)

[Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/)

> [I like the poem on the page and not at the podium. I like to address the poem in peace and quiet, not on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/i-like-the-poem-on-the-page-and-not-at-the-podium-i-like-to-address/)

[Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/)

> [a happy birthday this evening, I sat by an open window and read till the light was gone and the book was no more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/a-happy-birthday-this-evening-i-sat-by-an-open-window-and-read-till/)

[Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/)

> [Wallace Stevens had more time to write as an insurance agent. He was a bond lawyer and I know that insurance company lawyers don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/wallace-stevens-had-more-time-to-write-as-an-insurance-agent-he-was-a/)

[Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/)

> [I like the idea of there being times when even words cost so much you used them sparingly. I have known a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/i-like-the-idea-of-there-being-times-when-even-words-cost-so-much-you/)

[Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/)

> [In my work, I really try to look at ordinary things quite closely to see if there isn't a little bit of something special…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/in-my-work-i-really-try-to-look-at-ordinary-things-quite-closely-to/)

[Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/)

[Explore all 40 Ted Kooser quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/)

## More Care quotes

> [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/)

[Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/)

> [We all know what it feels like to love someone and care about them and want to protect them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiana-madeira/we-all-know-what-it-feels-like-to-love-someone-and-care-about-them/)

[Kiana Madeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiana-madeira/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [I certainly do care for you Jeff Campbell less than you are always thinking and much more than you are ever knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-certainly-do-care-for-you-jeff-campbell-less-than-you-are-always/)

[Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/)

> [Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy. Future job and economic growth in industry, defense, transportation, agriculture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bond/advances-in-technology-will-continue-to-reach-far-into-every-sector/)

[Christopher Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bond/)

> [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/)

[Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/)

> [I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don't want people to have to suffer. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/i-believe-in-taxation-and-health-care-that-is-outside-the-usual/)

[Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/)

> [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/)

[Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/)

> [What makes you care about nature, about the planet? Is it really that you're afraid of what's going to happen if you don't take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/what-makes-you-care-about-nature-about-the-planet-is-it-really-that/)

[Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/)

> [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [When you're in your twenties and starting out, the problem is that you care about being cool. Being older, I can care less about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-righton/when-you-re-in-your-twenties-and-starting-out-the-problem-is-that-you/)

[James Righton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-righton/)

> [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [I don't care if you make a print on a bath mat, just as long as it is a good print.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/i-don-t-care-if-you-make-a-print-on-a-bath-mat-just-as-long-as-it-is/)

[Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/)

> [The world's problems are, by and large, human problems-the unavoidable consequence of egoic sleepwalking. If we care to look, all the signs are present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/the-world-s-problems-are-by-and-large-human-problems-the-unavoidable/)

[Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/)

> [There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies - not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/there-are-a-lot-of-kids-out-there-copying-and-distributing-movies-not/)

[John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/)

[Browse all 19,019 Care quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Keeping a journal is like taking good care of one’s heart.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ted Kooser"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/keeping-a-journal-is-like-taking-good-care-of-one-s-heart/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Care"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/keeping-a-journal-is-like-taking-good-care-of-one-s-heart/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/ted-kooser-16216_care_keeping-a-journal-is-like-taking-good-ca_1107141.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/ted-kooser-16216_care_keeping-a-journal-is-like-taking-good-ca_1107141.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/ted-kooser-16216_care_keeping-a-journal-is-like-taking-good-ca_1107141.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Keeping a journal is like taking good care of one’s heart.” — Ted Kooser",
                "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": "Ted Kooser",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Keeping a journal is like taking...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/keeping-a-journal-is-like-taking-good-care-of-one-s-heart/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/keeping-a-journal-is-like-taking-good-care-of-one-s-heart/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
