My top 10 Favourite Quotes About Moving on and Letting Go

Quotes about moving on

I’ve spent a lot of time trying to collect useful wisdom that I could share in short, inspiring phrases. Letting go of the past means stepping into the unknown future, with the courage to let go of what is familiar – even if it’s negative – and being vulnerable enough to embrace and learn from what’s ahead.

Letting go of the past can be challenging because we link emotion to information. This is because we do not retain information that does not have feelings attached to it – that is, an associated feeling. But information with emotion makes an indelible impression.

My top 10 quotes about moving on

So far, I’ve collected 9 inspirational quotes on letting go. I’ll update this section from time to time.

I.

‘People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.’ 

II.

The Buddha about handling anger:

“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”

Source: Buddha in Dhammapada, an original Buddhist text from Khuddhaka Nikaya. In the Bala Vagga, verse Number 12th.

III.

Alan Watts, a renowned philosopher and writer, about finding ways to respond to adversities properly:

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”

Source: Alan Watts. 

IV.

There is this quote from Georgia O’Keefe on the value of knowing yourself in order to let go:

‘I have already settled it for myself so flattery and criticism go down the same drain and I am quite free.’

Source: Georgia O’Keefe. 

V.

Writer and essayist Aldous Huxley on approaching life with lightness, even in the face of difficulty:

“It’s dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them. I was so preposterously serious in those days, such a humorless little prig.

Lightly, lightly – it’s the best advice ever given me… So throw away your baggage and go forward. There are quicksands all about you, sucking at your feet, trying to suck you down into fear and self-pity and despair. That’s why you must walk so lightly.”

Source: Aldoux Huxley in ​Island. 

VI.

Couple therapist Esther Perel on the agency we possess in relationships:

‘It takes two people to create a pattern, but only one to change it.’

Source: Esther Perel in Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence.

VII.

Author J.R.R. Tolkien on moving forward despite the difficulties we face:

Frodo: ‘I wish none of this had happened.’
​
Gandalf: ‘So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.’

Source: J.R.R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings.

VIII.

Author Victor Frankl on the agency we all have to take control over the way we react to situations:

‘Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.’ 

Source: Viktor Frankl in Man’s search for meaning.

XI.

American singer, pianist, and civil rights activist Nina Simone, about self-respect and emotional boundaries — knowing when to walk away from people or situations that no longer nurture you, even if it’s hard:

“You’ve got to learn to leave the table when love is no longer being served.”

Source: Nina Simone. This quote is often attributed to Nina Simone, though its exact source is unclear.

Last note

Thank you for reading. It’s always a pleasure to hand-pick these inspirational quotes for you.

In the Tiny Bits newsletter, I share a thoughtful and inspirational quote every month, as I’ve collected many of them along the way. Sign up for my newsletter if you haven’t yet.