Today I’d like to share a collection of quotes on moving forward.
To help you to let go of the past. Of what you need to move on from.
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And to confidently keep moving forward towards new things in life, your goals, dreams and what you deep down need and want.
I hope these quotes will be as helpful for you as they have been for me when I’ve been stuck or felt like giving up on my own dreams and goals.
That’s what you’ll find in the first section of this post. In the second part I’ll share with you my 5 favorite tips that I use to let go of the past and move forward in my own life.
40 Inspiring and Motivating Moving Forward Quotes
“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
“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
“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” Martin Luther King Jr
“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” Alexander Graham Bell
“The answer to every adversity lies in courageously moving forward with faith.” Edmond Mbiaka
“If we fail to adapt, we fail to move forward.” John Wooden
“Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.” Napoleon Bonaparte
“Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance, you must keep moving.” Albert Einstein
“There are things that we never want to let go of, people we never want to leave behind. But keep in mind that letting go isn’t the end of the world, it’s the beginning of a new life.” Unknown
“Your past does not equal your future.” Anthony Robbins
“Even a rock moves on.” Anthony Liccione
“You can’t expect to move forward if your emergency break is on.” Angela Cecilia
“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
“March on. Do not tarry. To go forward is to move toward perfection. March on, and fear not the thorns, or the sharp stones on life’s path.” Kahlil Gibran
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
“I demolish my bridges behind me…then there is no choice but to move forward.” Fridtjof Nansen
“You are always a student, never a master. You have to keep moving forward.” Conrad Hall
“In a moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing to do, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” Theodore Roosevelt
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“Life moves on and so should we.” Spencer Johnson
“If you’re not moving forward, you’re falling back.” Sam Waterson
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” Jim Rohn
“Time is an equal opportunity employer. Each human being has exactly the same number of hours and minutes every day. Rich people can’t buy more hours. Scientists can’t invent new minutes. And you can’t save time to spend it on another day. Even so, time is amazingly fair and forgiving. No matter how much time you’ve wasted in the past, you still have an entire tomorrow.” Denis Waitley
“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
“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.” Jodi Picoult
“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
“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.” Lao Tzu
“Every minute you spend in planning saves 10 minutes in execution; this gives you a 1000 percent return on energy.” Brian Tracy
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” Steve Jobs
“You can spend minutes, hours, days, weeks, or even months overanalyzing 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 on.” Tupac Shakur
“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work in hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus. “ Alexander Graham Bell
“Follow effective actions with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.” Peter Drucker
“Rehashing the past wouldn’t change anything. Time to move forward.” Zena Wynn
“You really don’t have to burn any bridges to let go… You don’t have to destroy anything. You can just decide to cross over and move on.” Marta Mrotek
“Set your goal and keep moving forward.” Georges St-Pierre
“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work in hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus. “ Alexander Graham Bell
“It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.” Theodore Roosevelt
“Stop acting as if life is a rehearsal. Live this day as if it were your last. The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed.” Wayne Dyer
“You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present.” Jan Glidewell
“A year from now you may wish you had started today.” Karen Lamb
“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.” Napoleon Hill
My 5 Favorite Tips for Moving Forward
1. Know the benefits of letting go of the past.
Why is it sometimes so hard to let go of something or of the past and move forward in life?
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One powerful reason is simply that there are benefits and advantages of not letting go. At least to get some instant gratification and if you’re just focused on the short run.
- You get to keep feeling like you’re right. And like the other person is wrong. And that can be pleasurable in it’s own way.
- You can stay in the victim role. And get support and attention from other people.
- You don’t have to go outside your comfort zone and into the scary unknown. You can stay with what you know and what feels familiar and safe even if it is not good or healthy for you.
I know that this is what I get out of not letting go. I also know that is not worth it in the long run.
Because:
- What will the long-term consequences be in my life if I do not let this go?
- How will it affect the next year in my life and the relationships I have with other people and with myself?
Understanding that there are indeed benefits of not letting go but that they are just short-term upsides and that I will gain much more in the long run by letting go helps me to move forward instead of getting stuck.
2. Get a boost of optimism.
Give yourself a kickstart to begin moving forward by getting a boost of optimism.
Spend 10-15 minutes with a podcast, Youtube-video, book or website that gives you a shot of constructive optimism, enthusiasm and new energy.
Audio books by Brian Tracy and the podcast from Tim Ferriss have helped me with that many times over the years.
I have more recently also started to watch foodtraveler Mark Wiens for his enthusiasm and positive mindset and I like the upbeat and constructive energy of Youtuber Ali Abdaal.
3. Focus on what you CAN do something about.
You do not have control of the past. So don’t get stuck in reliving it over and over again and in thinking about what you should have done differently.
Learn from what mistakes were made and course-correct based on that.
But then ask yourself this to move forward:
What CAN I focus my time and energy on to actually make positive progress or a change in my life?
4. Start with just a small step.
After you have found what you can do to move yourself forward instead of being stuck in worries or regrets ask yourself this:
What is one small – or tiny – step I can take today to get started with that?
This will help you to not get stuck in procrastination. Find just one small 5-minute step you can take to start your journey towards something new and better.
If that still lands you in inner resistance and procrastination then find a tiny 1 minute step and get that done.
The important thing is to get started and to not lapse back into the past or get lost in daydreams about the future.
5. Celebrate your small step forward and success.
After you have accomplished your first small or tiny step and begun moving forward on your journey then celebrate that win.
- Have your favorite food for lunch.
- Eat a tasty snack.
- Spend a bit of time on your favorite hobby.
- Or buy yourself something you have wanted for some time.
This will help you to recharge your energy and to up your motivation and confidence in yourself.
And that will make it easier to keep taking small steps forward toward what you want and need in life.