Quotes aren’t just words—they’re anchors. Whether pulled from ancient proverbs, modern thinkers, or historical legends, inspirational quotes can offer clarity and calm during life’s storms. As Jessi Gholami, LCSW, puts it, they’re “concentrated morsels of hard-won wisdom” that feel like a warm hug when we need it most. Unlike cliché slogans, meaningful quotes can ground us, bring peace, and even disrupt the loop of negative thoughts that often spin on autopilot. According to clinical therapist Donna Novak, PsyD, placing inspirational quotes in our environment can help break that cycle and invite in a fresh, healing perspective. In this post, we highlight 26 quotes focused on letting go—powerful reminders of surrender, self-compassion, and the emotional release needed to heal.
26 Quotes About Letting Go
- “Some of us think holding on makes us strong but sometimes it is letting go.” — Hermann Hesse
- “The truth is unless you let go—forgive yourself, forgive the situation, realize the past is over—you cannot move forward.” — Steve Maraboli
- “When things start to fall apart in your life, you feel as if your whole world is crumbling. But actually it’s your fixed identity that’s crumbling. And that’s cause for celebration.” — Pema Chödrön
- “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
- “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
- “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
- “It is the same with people as it is with riding a bike. Only when moving can one comfortably maintain one’s balance.” — Albert Einstein
- “Let go of becoming but never let go of taking action. Stop expecting and start living.” — Maxime Lagacé
- “Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.” — Oprah Winfrey
- “There ain’t no way you can hold onto something that wants to go, you understand? You can only love what you got while you got it.” — Kate DiCamillo
- “To let go does not mean to get rid of. To let go means to let be. When we let be with compassion, things come and go on their own.” — Jack Kornfield
- “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 of the past that drags you down.” — Amit Ray
- “I don’t regret difficulties I experienced; I think they helped me to become the person I am today… he doesn’t remember the details of everything he learned, but he knows how to strike when the time is right.” — Paulo Coelho
- “To resist change, to try to cling to life, is like holding your breath: if you persist you kill yourself.” — Alan Watts
- “Surrender is a journey from outer turmoil to inner peace.” — Sri Chinmoy
- “Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.” — Mandy Hale
- “Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” — Lao Tzu
- “The key in letting go is practice. Each time we let go, we disentangle ourselves from our expectations and begin to experience things as they are.” — Sharon Salzberg
- “If strength is love, then we weren’t strong enough. But if strength is letting love go, we were.” — Joe Bolton
- “The nearer a man comes to a calm mind, the closer he is to strength.” — Marcus Aurelius
- “The ultimate act of power is surrender.” — Krishna Das
- “Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald
- “We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” — E.M. Forster
- “When all is lost, when all is let go of, when all is abandoned, what you are left with is an ocean of bliss.” — Robert Thurman
- “The more anger towards the past you carry in your heart, the less capable you are of loving in the present.” — Barbara De Angelis
- “People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. They prefer suffering that is familiar to the unknown.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
