It can be difficult to let go of the past. Whether it’s a relationship, a job, or simply something you believe about yourself that you’ve held for years and refuse to let go of, these life quotes about letting go can help!
The desperate urge to hold on to what was known to us restricts our ability to experience happiness and joy in the present. Life is about constant change. This means that no matter how hard we try to maintain things the same, we will eventually be confronted with constant change, whether we like it or not. However, once we stop trying to dominate and control the world in which we live, we open ourselves up to new possibilities.
These quotes will learn you how to let go of the past, let go of someone you loved, forgive after being injured, and move on in general.
Table of Contents
- Powerful Life Quotes about Letting Go
- Life Quotes about Letting Go of Someone You Love
- Short Life Quotes about Letting Go
- Inspirational Quotes about Letting Things Go
- Inspirational Quotes about Letting Someone Go
- Happy Life Quotes about Letting Go
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Powerful Life Quotes about Letting Go
Enjoy this collection of the most powerful and inspirational quotes about letting go and moving on. See which ones speak to you the most, and write them down or save them elsewhere for later reading.
If you’re ready to take action, check out this list of the perfect affirmations for letting go, which will help you heal, let go of the past, and move ahead.
1. “Why let go of yesterday? Because yesterday has already let go of you.” —Steve Maraboli
2. “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
3. “I demolish my bridges behind me… then there is no choice but to move forward.” — Fridtjof Nansen
4. “It’s hard to be clear about who you are when you are carrying around a bunch of baggage from the past.” — Angelina Jolie
5. “Sometimes you have to let go to see if there was anything worth holding onto.” — Socrates
6. “Surrender to what is. Let go of what was. Have faith in what will be.” — Sonia Ricotti
7. “Hide yourself in God, so when a man wants to find you, he will have to go there first.” — Shannon L. Alder
8. “One of the most courageous decisions you’ll ever make is finally letting go of what is hurting your heart and soul.” — Brigitte Nicole
9. “Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.” — Mandy Hale
10. “The world is round, and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning.” — Ivy Baker Priest
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11. “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 Landers
12. “Holding on is believing that there’s only a past; letting go is knowing that there’s a future.” — Daphne Rose Kingma
13. “Letting go may sound so simple, but rarely is it a one-time thing. Just keep letting go, until one day it’s gone for good.” — Eleanor Brown
14. “Better just go with the flow. Last thing that we should do is go slow. I’m thinking we should ride.” — Lurk
15. “There is a huge amount of freedom that comes to you when you take nothing personally.” — Don Miguel Ruiz
16. “You’ve got to make a conscious choice every day to shed the old – whatever ‘the old’ means for you.” — Sarah Ban Breathnach
17. “In the process of letting go you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.” — Deepak Chopra
18. “Holding onto anger or frustration for things you can’t control or change is not a good decision.” — Lisa Lieberman-Wang
19. “All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.” — H. Havelock Ellis
20. “There comes a time in your life when you have to choose to turn the page, write another book or simply close it.” — Shannon L. Alder
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Life Quotes about Letting Go of Someone You Love
21. “The person who doesn’t value you is blocking you from the one who will. Let them go.” — Robert Tew
22. “I’m guilty of giving people more chances than they deserve, but when I’m done, I’m done.” — Turcois Ominek
23. “Walk away from anything or anyone who takes away your joy. Life is too short to put up with the fools.” — Unknown
24. “I think that you never fall out of love with somebody, you just let go and move on.” — Ashley Rickards
25. “Following the crowd means letting others decide your path.” — Derrick Bell
26. “If you only knew how to respect my heart, I wouldn’t have found a reason to let you go.” — Jourdane Erasquin
27. “Letting go does not mean you stop caring. It means you stop trying to force others to.” — Mandy Hale
28. “Broken hearts hurt but they will make you strong.” — Unknown
29. “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
30. “If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don’t, they never were.” — Khalil Gibran
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31. “The bottom line is this; when one person stops being a part of your life, another one will come, and fill that empty space. Leave the ones who left in the past, right where they belong, and never look back.” — Ena Snow
32. “It is by giving the freedom to the other, that is by letting go, we gain our own freedom back.” — Aleksandra Ninkovic
33. “It was real. And now it’s over. And that’s OK.” — Taylor Jenkins Reid
34. “If strength is love, then we weren’t strong enough, But if strength is letting love go, we were.” — Joe Bolton
35. “The river makes the water flow. That’s how I live. I just let everything flow. Flow with the river.” — Vitor Belfort
36. “If you didn’t love him, this never would have happened. But you did. And accepting that love and everything that followed it is part of letting it go.” —Sarah Dessen
37. “Don’t hold to anger, hurt or pain. They steal your energy and keep you from love.” — Leo Buscaglia
38. “Sometimes you have to give up on people. Not because you don’t care, but because they don’t.” — Anon
39. “In the end these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you love? How deeply did you learn to let go?” — Buddha
40. “To love and let go, love and let go, love, and let go… it’s the single most important thing we can learn in this lifetime.” — Rachel Brathen
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Short Life Quotes about Letting Go
41. “Just remember, when you should grab something, grab it; when you should let go, let go.” — Unknown
42. “Even a rock moves on.” — Anthony Liccione
43. “Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than hanging on.” — Eckhart Tolle
44. “Let go of becoming but never let go of taking action. Stop expecting and start living.” — Maxmie Lagacé
45. “Just let it go and fall like a little waterfall.” — Bob Ross
46. “Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life.” — Sophia Loren
47. “Nothing can drag you down if you’re not holding on to it.” — Tony Robbins
48. “Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” — Buddha
49. “Notice that autumn is more the season of the soul than of nature.” —Friedrich Nietzsche
50. “Feel everything. Let go of everything. Or you will be held captive by everything.” — Unknown
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51. “Holding on is believing that there’s a past; letting go is knowing that there’s a future.” — Daphne Rose Kingma
52. “There’s an important difference between giving up and letting go.” —Jessica Hatchigan
53. “Those who flow as life flows know they need no other force.” — Lao Tzu
54. “Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax.” — Mark Black
55. “I follow four dictates: face it, accept it, deal with it, then let it go.” — Sheng-yen
56. “Life ain’t always beautiful but it’s a beautiful ride.” — Gary Allan
57. “Thank God I found the GOOD in goodbye.” — Beyonce Knowles
58. “When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” — Lao Tzu
59. “Your past is just a story. And once you realize this, it has no power over you.” — Chuck Palahniuk
60. “Yesterday is heavy, put it down.” — Unknown
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Inspirational Quotes about Letting Things Go
61. “Just because something made you happy in the past doesn’t mean you have to keep it forever.” — Melva Green
62. “Letting go of the need to control things doesn’t mean letting go of responsibility. It means embracing life.” — Marc David
63. “Holding on is believing that there’s only a past; letting go is knowing that there’s a future.” — Daphne Rose Kingma
64. “You will find that it is necessary to let things go; simply for the reason that they are heavy.” — C. Joybell C.
65. “The best skill at cards is knowing when to discard.” — Baltasar Gracián
66. “It’s not a matter of letting go— you would if you could. Instead of “let it go,” we should probably say “let it be.” — Jon Kabat-Zinn
67. “You only struggle because you’re ready to grow but aren’t willing to let go.” — Drew Gerald
68. “The present moment is a conspiracy of the total universe. To resist it is to resist the universe. Let go and flow.” — Deepak Chopra
69. “Do not call silence empty. Call it full of answers. Do not call letting go failure. Call it wisdom.” — Maxime Lagacé
70. “Remember, letting go isn’t about having the courage to release the past; it is about having the wisdom and strength to embrace the present.” — Marc & Angel
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71. “The sooner we let go of holding on, the sooner we can hold on to the beauty of what’s unfolding before us. Nothing was ever meant to stay the same forever.” — Julieanne O’Connor
72. “Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.” — Mandy Hale
73. “I realized that there was no point or sense in chasing after happiness that had perished.” — Mikhail Lermontov
74. “It is mental slavery to cling to things that have stopped serving its purpose in your life.” — Chinonye J. Chidolue
75. “Never love something so much that you can’t let go of it.” — Ginni Rometty
76. “Sometimes, you have to let things go. Sometimes, you have to stop caring for a minute.” — Trina Etmanskie
77. “Some things are just not meant to be, no matter how much we wish they were.” — Unknown
78. “Let go of your attachment to being right, and suddenly your mind is more open.” — Ralph Marston
79. “It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.” — Theodore Roosevelt
80. “You don’t need strength to let go of something. What you really need is understanding.” — Guy Finley
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Inspirational Quotes about Letting Someone Go
81. “Hanging onto resentment is letting someone you despise live rent-free in your head.” — Ann Landers
82. “The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings.” — Kakuzo Okakura
83. “The best revenge is just moving on and getting over it. Don’t give someone the satisfaction of watching you suffer.” — Unknown
84. “Time flies, people change. You’re not always needed. There are times to move forward and places to let go.” — Unknown
85. “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
86. “People can be more forgiving than you can imagine. But you have to forgive yourself. Let go of what’s bitter and move on.” — Bill Cosby
87. “Never waste valuable time, or mental peace of mind, on the affairs of others – that is too high a price to pay.” — Robert Greene
88. “The more you let yourself go, the less others let you go.” — Friedrich Nietzsche
89. “Sometimes in life, there’s no problem, and sometimes, there is a solution. Within this space – between these apparent poles – life flows.” — Rasheed Ogunlaru
90. “Give up your attachment to having things your way.” — Iyanla Vanzant
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91. “If others rent space in your head for FREE, it’s only because you allowed it.” — Lisa Lieberman-Wang
92. “Broken hearts hurt but they will make you strong.” — Unknown
93. “When you leave, weary of me, without a word I shall gently let you go.” — Kim Sowol
94. “Enjoy what you can and ignore the rest. Let’s not waste any energy fighting things that are outside our control.” — Paulo Coelho
95. “I think that you never fall out of love with somebody, you just let go and move on.” — Ashley Rickards
96. “Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.” — Oprah Winfrey
97. “In order to move on, you must understand why you felt what you did and why you no longer need to feel it.” — Mitch Albom
98. “Just keep in mind: the more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.” — Epictetus
99. “Your time is way too valuable to be wasting on people that can’t accept who you are.” — Turcois Ominek
100. “One of the happiest moments in life is when you find the courage to let go of what you cannot change.” — Unknown
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Happy Life Quotes about Letting Go
101. “If you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any moment.” — Carlos Santana
102. “I don’t have to be perfect. All I have to do is show up and enjoy the messy, imperfect, and beautiful journey of my life.” — Kerry Washington
103. “Life is short. You have to be able to laugh at our pain or we never move on.” — Jeff Ross
104. “It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.” — Lewis Carroll
105. “You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go, and see what happens.” — Unknown
106. “When he left, you spent all your energy holding on to him. You could be happy if you let go.” — Stephenie Meyer
107. “Let go of the past and go for the future. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined.” — Henry David Thoreau
108. “Don’t go through life; grow through life.” — Eric Butterworth
109. “The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.” — J.P. Morgan
110. “Letting go may sound so simple, but rarely is it a one-time thing. Just keep letting go, until one day it’s gone for good.” — Eleanor Brownn
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111. “In the end these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you live? How deeply did you let go?” — Gautama Buddha
112. “A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.” — Henry David Thoreau
113. “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.” — Ferris Bueller
114. “Anyone who enjoys inner peace is no more broken by failure than he is inflated by success.” — Matthieu Ricard
115. “Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish; but wish the things which happen to be as they are, and you will have a tranquil flow of life.” — Epictetus
116. “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
117. “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” — Henry Ford
118. “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
119. “When the world is at your back, and your heart is at your feet…the best way to go on is to just “be”.” — Jennifer Varnadore
120. “Life is just a slide. Back and forth between loving and leaving, remembering and forgetting, holding on, and letting go.” — Nicole Lyons
I hope you are inspired by these 120 life quotes about letting go. I love quotes because they always show how a few sentences can change my viewpoint and help me see things differently.
Did you enjoy the above quotes, or which letting go quotes were your favorites? Tell me in the comments below. I’d love to hear all about it.
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