The 60 Best Letting Go Quotes

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Letting go is incredibly difficult. No matter if we cling to worries about the future, or if we keep replaying the mistakes of the past again and again in our mind—it can be quite painful when you have difficulties to move on. The desperate attempt to hold on to the things that were familiar to us limits our capability to experience happiness and joy in the present moment. Life is all about continuous change. This means to us that no matter how hard we try to keep things as they are, we will sooner or later be confronted with relentless changes, whether we like it or not. However, as soon as we cease our attempts to own and control the environment we are living in, we open up ourselves to new possibilities.

This is the reason why it is so important to be able to let go: moving on helps us to let happiness and joy in.

Letting the past go

Scientists at the University of St. Andrews highlighted the importance of being able to let go in their research about forgiveness. They showed that those participants who were willing to forgive their transgressor were more likely to be able to forget what happened. For this very reason, it’s so important to be able to let go and forgive so that we can move on with our life.

The following quotes about letting go and moving forward will guide you through this difficult time. They will lighten up your mood and help you to get inspired to discover the new opportunities that come with changes.

The Best Quotes about Letting Go

  1. The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.
    Steve Maraboli
    The truth is
  2. Forget what hurt you but never forget what it taught you.
    Shannon L. AlderNever forget what failure taught you
  3. If you want to fly in the sky, you need to leave the earth. If you want to move forward, you need to let go the past that drags you down.
    Amit Ray
    Move forward
  4. In the process of letting go, you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.
    Deepak Chopra
    The process of letting go
  5. Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go.
    Herman Hesse
    Holding on
  6. The only thing a person can ever really do is keep moving forward. Take that big leap forward without hesitation, without once looking back. Simply forget the past and forge toward the future.
    Alyson Noel
    Moving forward
  7. We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
    Walt Disney
    Keep moving forward
  8. When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need.
    Tao Te Ching
    When I let go of what I am
  9. A bridge can still be built, while the bitter waters are flowing beneath.
    Anthony Liccione
    A bridge
  10. Holding on is believing that there’s only a past; letting go is knowing that there’s a future.
    Daphne Rose Kingma
    Holding on
  11. To let go is to release the images and emotions, the grudges and fears, the clingings and disappointments of the past that bind our spirit.
    Jack Kornfield
    Uplifting letting go quote
  12. I think that the power is the principle. The principle of moving forward, as though you have the confidence to move forward, eventually gives you confidence when you look back and see what you’ve done.
    Robert Downey Jr.
  13. Sooner or later we’ve all got to let go of our past.
    Dan Brown
    Sooner or later
  14. You’ve got to make a conscious choice every day to shed the old – whatever “the old” means for you.
    Sarah Ban Breathnach
  15. Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energy moving forward together towards an answer.
    Denis Waitley
  16. Even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward.
    Victor Kiam
    Even if you fall
  17. If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.
    Henry Ford
  18. Sometimes the hardest part isn’t letting go but rather learning to start over.
    Nicole Sobon
  19. We can’t be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don’t have something better.
    C. JoyBell C.
  20. Life moves on and so should we.
    Spencer Johnson
    Life moves on
  21. Change has to come for life to struggle forward.
    Helen Hollick
  22. Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.
    Raymond Lindquist
  23. What happens when you let go when your strength leaves you and you sink into darkness, when there’s nothing that you or anyone else can do, no matter how desperate you are, no matter how you try? Perhaps it’s then, when you have neither pride nor power, that you are saved, brought to an unimaginably great reward.
    Mark Halperin
  24. Letting go doesn’t mean that you don’t care about someone anymore. It’s just realizing that the only person you really have control over is yourself.
    Deborah Reber
  25. Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.
    Ann Lander
  26. There’s an important difference between giving up and letting go.
    Jessica Hatchigan
    Giving up and letting go
  27. Forgiveness means letting go of the past.
    Gerald Jampolsky
  28. Never love something so much that you can’t let go of it.
    Ginni Rometty
  29. It is important that we forgive ourselves for making mistakes. We need to learn from our errors and move on.
    Steve Maraboli
  30. Letting go means to come to the realization that some people are a part of your history, but not a part of your destiny.
    Steve Maraboli
  31. Sometimes you have to take a step back to move forward.
    Erika Taylor
    Take a step back
  32. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
    Dalai Lama
  33. Sometimes the door closes on a relationship, not because we failed but because something bigger than us says this no longer fits our life. So, lock the door, shed a tear, turn around and look for the new door that’s opened. It’s a sign that you’re no longer that person you were, it’s time to change into who you are. It’s going to be okay.
    Lee Goff
  34. Broken hearts hurt but they will make you strong.
    Unknown
    Broken hearts hurt
  35. Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.
    Oprah Winfrey
  36. We must be willing to let go of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
    Joseph Campbell
  37. You don’t need strength to let go of something. What you really need is understanding.
    Guy Finley
    You don't need strength
  38. Let go of your attachment to being right, and suddenly your mind is more open.
    Ralph Marston
  39. Letting go does not mean you stop caring. It means you stop trying to force others to.
    Mandy Hale
  40. If you want to forget something or someone, never hate it, or never hate him/her. Everything and everyone that you hate is engraved upon your heart; if you want to let go of something, if you want to forget, you cannot hate.
    C. JoyBell C.
  41. You can only lose what you cling to.
    Buddha
  42. Change can be good but its always tough to let go of the past.
    Emily Giffin
    Change can be good
  43. When we think we have been hurt by someone in the past, we build up defenses to protect ourselves from being hurt in the future. So the fearful past causes a fearful future and the past and future become one. We cannot love when we feel fear…. When we release the fearful past and forgive everyone, we will experience total love and oneness with all.
    Gerald G. Jampolsky
  44. Life moves forward. The old leaves wither, die and fall away, and the new growth extends forward into the light.
    Bryant McGill
  45. Suffering is not holding you. You are holding suffering. When you become good at the art of letting sufferings go, then you’ll come to realize how unnecessary it was for you to drag those burdens around with you. You’ll see that no one else other than you was responsible. The truth is that existence wants your life to become a festival.
    Osho
  46. Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.
    Steve Maraboli
  47. You will find that it is necessary to let things go; simply for the reason that they are heavy. So let them go, let go of them. I tie no weights to my ankles.
    C. JoyBell C.
  48. Sometimes it takes a heartbreak to shake us awake and help us see we are worth so much more than we’re settling for.
    Mandy Hale
  49. Renew, release, let go. Yesterday’s gone. There’s nothing you can do to bring it back. You can’t “should’ve” done something. You can only DO something. Renew yourself. Release that attachment. Today is a new day!
    Steve Maraboli
  50. Let go. Why do you cling to pain? There is nothing you can do about the wrongs of yesterday. It is not yours to judge. Why hold on to the very thing which keeps you from hope and love?
    Leo Buscaglia
  51. Even on my weakest days I get a little bit stronger
    Sara Evans
    Even on my weakest days
  52. The day I understood everything, was the day I stopped trying to figure everything out. The day I knew peace was the day I let everything go.
    C. JoyBell C.
  53. It’s hard to be clear about who you are when you are carrying around a bunch of baggage from the past. I’ve learned to let go and move more quickly into the next place.
    Angelina Jolie
  54. All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.
    Havelock Ellis
  55. I demolish my bridges behind me… then there is no choice but to move forward.
    Fridtjof Nansen
  56. The beautiful journey of today can only begin when we learn to let go of yesterday.
    Steve Maraboli
  57. There’s a trick to the Graceful Exit. It begins with the vision to recognize when a job, a life stage, a relationship is over – and to let go. It means leaving what’s over without denying its value.
    Ellen Goodman
  58. Today expect something good to happen to you no matter what occurred yesterday. Realize the past no longer holds you captive. It can only continue to hurt you if you hold on to it. Let the past go. A simply abundant world awaits.
    Sarah Ban Breathnach
  59. Let go of certainty. The opposite isn’t uncertainty. It’s openness, curiosity and a willingness to embrace paradox, rather than choose up sides. The ultimate challenge is to accept ourselves exactly as we are, but never stop trying to learn and grow.
    Tony Schwartz
  60. Pain will leave you when you let go.
    Jeremy Aldana
    Pain will leave you

I hope you enjoyed the quotes in the above.

Move on

But what do we learn from this? Can we draw a conclusion after reading all these quotes?

What is the quintessence of all these quotes?

It is really difficult to summarize all the quotes named in the above. But let us try to condense the wisdom of the fantastic quotes in the above.

Life is all about change. For this reason it is so important to be able to let go of all the pain and sorrows that we carry around on our shoulders. Letting go and moving on helps us to discover new opportunities. It is also beneficial towards our own healing. In fact, you will never fully heal when you are not able to let go.

Feel free to share this article with a loved one, if you happen to know someone who is going through a tough time.

Photo credit: RAR


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About Author

Steve is the founder of Planet of Success, the #1 choice when it comes to motivation, self-growth and empowerment. This world does not need followers. What it needs is people who stand in their own sovereignty. Join us in the quest to live life to the fullest!

10 Comments

  1. Thank You so very much for the amazing feeling that someone else is on a very similar journey as I, really for the first time, without hesitation or reservation. I’m so afraid that what I see in truth of myself, even in change will be horrifying. How I feel inside I fear is the equal value of who I am….. I know I’m way off but it’s become what I believe. I am going to find that secret or ‘blind-secret’ to my-future, by that I mea me, blinded by my past, kinda like love can be blind. ‘Til tomorrow my new helpers, I’ve got a new journey to start, Thank You for today. Please pray for Suzanne. 😉

  2. Thank you soooo much dear sir…..or……madam I am very thankfull for you sir……. Or madam thanks for sharing ur great feelings with us….it was awesome feelings ever in this world which can also match our feelings and I can show my pain using this quote as wtsapp status thank you sooo much once again…I hope every one who read this article’s might be in love with this quotes….😊😊

    • Thank you sir for sharing this marvelous quotes. It’s very inspiring and an eye opener to me. The pain in my heart slowly subsides. It helps alot. Forgiveness and letting go is really hard to do but I will slowly accept and change to be able to move forward for a brighter tomorrow.

  3. Many would have told us “This will also pass” or “Time is a healer” in different situations. But, the art of “Letting go” is a technique each of us can practice independent of any external support. Of course, it takes time to realize that it is possible to insulate our thought processes from external negative influences.

  4. Matthew @ MindBootstrap on

    Letting go is about accepting what is happening right now and not worrying about what will come up tomorrow.

    “In the process of letting go, you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.”
    Deepak Chopra

  5. Awesome truth in these quotes… I have decided to let go of a friendship that was dragging me down, but I couldn’t get myself to actually do it… till recently and reading these quotes. I realized that I was so unhappy lately and walking on eggs around my friend, whom I love dearly… I knew that it was time for me to let go in order to see my self worth … I’m still new in this journey but I believe that all will be good and better… every day better than the one before.

  6. My favorite quote: “In the process of letting go, you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.” – Deepak Chopra. Great list. Thanks for sharing.

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