Moving On quotes
A collection of quotes on the topic of goodbye, sad quotes, moving on, going.
Best moving on quotes
“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American politician, diplomat, and activist, and First Lady of the United States
Source: You Learn by Living (1960), p. 29–30
Context: You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, "I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." … You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”
Victor Hugo book Les Misérables
Source: Les Misérables
“Happiness is the readiness to be happy.”
James Richardson (1950) American poet
Aphorism #33
Interglacial (2004)
“Sadness flies away on the wings of time.”
Jean De La Fontaine (1621–1695) French poet, fabulist and writer.
“The course of true love never did run smooth.”
William Shakespeare A Midsummer Night's Dream
Lysander, Act I, scene i.
Source: A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595)
“If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try.”
Seth Godin (1960) American entrepreneur, author and public speaker
“The heart will break, but broken live on.”
George Gordon Byron (1788–1824) English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement
Variant: And thus the heart will break, yet brokenly live on.
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
Kristin Hannah book The Nightingale
Source: The Nightingale
Moving On quotes
“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.”
John Lennon (1940–1980) English singer and songwriter
“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life — It goes on.”
Robert Frost (1874–1963) American poet
As quoted in The Harper Book of Quotations (1993) edited by Robert I. Fitzhenry, p. 261
General sources
Variant: In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.
“It’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”
Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962) American actress, model, and singer
Variant: Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.
Tupac Shakur (1971–1996) rapper and actor
Variant: You can spend minutes, hours, days, weeks or even months over-analyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could've, would've happened... or you can just leave the pieces on the floor and move the f**k on.
Socrates (-470–-399 BC) classical Greek Athenian philosopher
This is actually a quotation http://books.google.com/books?id=FUIHmRHf8SUC&lpg=PA130&dq=%22not%20on%20fighting%20the%20old%20but%20on%20building%20the%20new%22&pg=PA130#v=onepage&q=%22not%20on%20fighting%20the%20old%20but%20on%20building%20the%20new%22&f=false from a character named Socrates in Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book that Changes Lives http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_of_the_Peaceful_Warrior, by Dan Millman. <br class="br">Misattributed
“Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes, it is letting go.”
Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) German writer
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American author and poet
Shared on her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MayaAngelou/posts/10150251846629796, July 4, 2011
“Cry me a river, build a bridge, and get over it.”
Justin Timberlake (1981) American singer and actor
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.”
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity
Letter to his son Eduard (5 February 1930), as quoted in Walter Isaacson, Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007), p. 367
1930s
“The secret of joy is the mastery of pain.”
Anaïs Nin (1903–1977) writer of novels, short stories, and erotica
“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”
Joseph Campbell (1904–1987) American mythologist, writer and lecturer
Variant: You must give up the life you planned in order to have the life that is waiting for you.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
Sören Kierkegaard (1813–1855) Danish philosopher and theologian, founder of Existentialism
Variant: Life can only be understood going backward, but must be lived going forward.
“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.”
Anne Frank (1929–1945) victim of the Holocaust and author of a diary
“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”
Confucius (-551–-479 BC) Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher
Source: Confucius: The Analects
“Those who do not move, do not notice their chains.”
Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919) Polish Marxist theorist, socialist philosopher, and revolutionary
As is often the case, this quote appears to be something Luxemburg could have said or written, but searches for a source have been unsuccessful. While Luxemburg often used metaphors of breaking or shattering chains, this, apparently, is not one of them. See: https://librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2013/07/06/reference-desk-unanswered-questions/
“Sometimes things fall apart so that better things can fall together.”
Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962) American actress, model, and singer
Variant: Sometimes good things fall apart so that better things can fall together.
Johnny Cash (1932–2003) American singer-songwriter
Variant: You build on failure. You use it as a stepping sone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.
“There is another world, but it is in this one.”
Paul Éluard (1895–1952) French poet
Il y a assurément un autre monde, mais il est dans celui-ci...
Œuvres complètes, vol. 1, Gallimard, 1968.
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American politician, diplomat, and activist, and First Lady of the United States
Source: You Learn by Living (1960), p. 29–30
Context: You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, "I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." … You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
“It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
Paulo Coelho book Manuscript Found in Accra
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), Love has always passed me by
“She took a step and didn't want to take any more, but she did.”
Markus Zusak book The Book Thief
Source: The Book Thief
“the purpose of life is the life of purpose”
Robin S. Sharma book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
Source: The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
“No matter where you go, there you are”
Yogi Berra (1925–2015) American baseball player, manager, coach
Source: When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It!: Inspiration and Wisdom from One of Baseball's Greatest Heroes
“Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. ”
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) British poet laureate
“There is, in the end, the letting go.”
Marya Hornbacher book Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia
Source: Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia
“TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE”
Abbie Hoffman (1936–1989) American political and social activist
Source: Revolution for the Hell of It (1968), p. 184.
“Sooner or later we've all got to let go of our past.”
Dan Brown book Deception Point
Source: Deception Point
“If you are brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new Hello.
Paulo Coehlo”
Paulo Coelho (1947) Brazilian lyricist and novelist
Variant: If you’re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello.
“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”
Robert Byrne (1928–2013) American chess player and writer
“There is no such thing in life as normal”
Morrissey (1959) English singer
Ref: en.wikiquote.org - Lauretta Bender / Quotes / 1954 Senate Subcommittee Hearings into Juvenile Delinquency, "Testimony of Dr. Lauretta Bender, senior psychiatrist, Belleveu hospital Newyork N.Y." http://www.thecomicbooks.com/bender.html <br class="br">From songs
“We are healed of a suffering only by experiencing it to the full.”
Marcel Proust book In Search of Lost Time
On ne guérit d'une souffrance qu'à condition de l'éprouver pleinement.
Source: In Search of Lost Time, Remembrance of Things Past (1913-1927), Vol. VI: The Sweet Cheat Gone (1925), Ch. I: "Grief and Oblivion"
“Because I remember, I despair. Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair.”
Elie Wiesel (1928–2016) writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor
Hope, Despair, and Memory (1986)
Context: Because I remember, I despair. Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair. I remember the killers, I remember the victims, even as I struggle to invent a thousand and one reasons to hope.
“There is no time for grief; there never is.”
Christopher Pike (1954) American author Kevin Christopher McFadden
Source: The Red Dice
“Life is to be lived, not controlled.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet
“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice.”
Wayne W. Dyer (1940–2015) American writer
“Girls you've gotta know when it's time to turn the page.”
Tori Amos (1963) American singer
Source: Tori Amos: From the Choirgirl Hotel
“Forgive yourself for your faults and your mistakes and move on.”
Les Brown (1945) American politician
“It is not down on any map; true places never are.”
Herman Melville (1818–1891) American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet
Source: Moby-Dick or, The Whale
“There is love in holding and there is love in letting go.”
Elizabeth Berg (1948) American novelist
Variant: There is love in holding, and there is love in letting go.
Source: The Year of Pleasures
“Sometimes you can’t let go of the past without facing it again.”
Gail Tsukiyama The Samurai's Garden
Source: The Samurai's Garden
“You have to believe in it to get it…”
Nora Roberts (1950) American romance writer
Source: Heart of the Sea
“When someone leaves, it's because someone else is about to arrive.”
Paulo Coelho book The Zahir
Variant: When someone leaves, its because someone else is about to arrive- I'll find love again.
Source: The Zahir
“You have to let go of who you were to become who you will be.”
Candace Bushnell book Sex and the City
Source: Sex and the City
“Tears shed for self are tears of weakness, but tears shed for others are a sign of strength.”
Billy Graham (1918–2018) American Christian evangelist
“It’s not what you are that counts, it’s what they think you are.”
Andy Warhol (1928–1987) American artist
Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) American protestant theologian
One of the most commonly quoted forms.
The Serenity Prayer (c. 1942)
Variant: Lord, grant me the strength to accept the things I cannot change,
he courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
“I will never give up if you never give in.”
Suzanne Collins (1962) American television writer and novelist
“No matter how much suffering you went through, you never wanted to let go of those memories.”
Haruki Murakami (1949) Japanese author, novelist
“I tell you the past is a bucket of ashes.”
Carl Sandburg (1878–1967) American writer and editor
"Prairie" (1918)
Source: Cornhuskers
“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.”
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American politician, diplomat, and activist, and First Lady of the United States
“Even on my weakest days
I get a little bit stronger”
Sara Evans (1971) American country singer and songwriter
“All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.”
H. Havelock Ellis (1859–1939) British physician, writer, and social reformer
“A bend in the road is not the end of the road…Unless you fail to make the turn.”
Helen Keller (1880–1968) American author and political activist
“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius”
Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962) American actress, model, and singer
“Every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick off your shoes, and dance.”
Oprah Winfrey (1954) American businesswoman, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist
“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.”
Henry Ford (1863–1947) American industrialist
“Study the past if you would define the future.”
Confucius (-551–-479 BC) Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher
“If it comes, let it come. If it stays, let it stay. If it goes, let it go.”
Nicholas Sparks (1965) American writer and novelist
Two By Two
“The greatest step towards a life of simplicity is to learn to let go.”
Steve Maraboli (1975)
Source: Life, the Truth, and Being Free (2010), p. 26
“Time is a circus, always packing up and moving away.”
Ben Hecht (1894–1964) American screenwriter
from "Elegy for Wonderland", by Ben Hecht, Esquire Magazine, March 1959
“Suffering isn't ennobling, recovery is.”
Christiaan Barnard (1922–2001) South-African physician
New York Times, April 28, 1985; as quoted in A Speaker's Treasury of Quotations by Michael C. Thomsett and Linda Rose Thomsett (McFarland, 2009), p. 111 https://books.google.it/books?id=igYyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA111.
Steve Maraboli (1975)
Source: Life, the Truth, and Being Free (2010), p. 80
“Love is like the measles; we all have to go through it.”
Jerome K. Jerome book Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow
"On Being in Love".
Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow (1886)
Context: Love is like the measles; we all have to go through it. Also like the measles, we take it only once... No, we never sicken with love twice. Cupid spends no second arrow on the same heart.
“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”
Laozi (-604) semi-legendary Chinese figure, attributed to the 6th century, regarded as the author of the Tao Te Ching and fou…
“Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.”
Winston S. Churchill (1874–1965) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
“The opportunity of your life, it's you.”
Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer
Original: (it) L'occasione della tua vita, sei tu.
Source: prevale.net
“The cure for a broken heart is simple, my lady. A hot bath and a good night's sleep.”
Margaret George (1943) American writer
Source: Mary Queen of Scotland and The Isles
“Vitality shows not only in the ability to persist, but in the ability to start over.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940) American novelist and screenwriter
Cameron Dokey (1956) American writer
Source: The Wild Orchid: A Retelling of The Ballad of Mulan
“Think like a queen. A queen if not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.”
Oprah Winfrey (1954) American businesswoman, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist
“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.”
Erich Fromm (1900–1980) German social psychologist and psychoanalyst
“Anything I can not transform into something marvelous, I let go.”
Anaïs Nin (1903–1977) writer of novels, short stories, and erotica
Variant: A very wise man once told me that you can't look back-you just have to put the past behind you, and find something better in your future.
Source: Salem Falls
