A diary need not be a dreary ...

A diary need not be a dreary chronicle of one's movements; it should aim rather at giving salient account of some particular episode, a walk, a book, a conversation.
 A. C. Benson

Quotes from the same author

Very often a change of self is needed more than a change of scene.
 A. C. Benson
A well begun is half ended.
 A. C. Benson
Readjusting is a painful process, but most of us need it at one time or another.
 A. C. Benson
People who deal with life generously and large-heartedly go on multiplying relationships to the end.
 A. C. Benson