75 Letting Go Quotes To Help You Live Free

By Maxime Lagacé

Maxime is the founder of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page.

Me at 22:

Attached to stuff
Attached to the past
Trying to impress others

Me at 40:

Minimalist
Comfortable in my own skin
Peaceful and serene toward the past

What changed?

I learned to LET GO of things I can’t control.

Inspired by this, I’ve compiled 75 of the most inspiring letting go quotes over the years.

I hope you’ll find them as useful and inspiring as I did.

And please keep in mind:

Letting go doesn’t mean you’re passive.

It means you’re taking a different direction.

A better direction.

You’ll discover quotes by Thoreau, Dalai Lama, Eckhart Tolle, and many more.

Enjoy!

letting go quotes some think holding makes strong hermann hesse wisdom

Some of us think holding on makes us strong but sometimes it is letting go. Hermann Hesse

Sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on. Eckhart Tolle (A New Earth)

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 (Enchiridion)

Give up your attachment to having things your way. Iyanla Vanzant

Never waste valuable time, or mental peace of mind, on the affairs of others – that is too high a price to pay. Robert Greene

No drives, no compulsions, no needs, no attractions; when your affairs are under control you are free. Zhuangzi

Let go of becoming but never let go of taking action. Stop expecting and start living. Maxime Lagacé

Anyone who enjoys inner peace is no more broken by failure than he is inflated by success. Matthieu Ricard (Happiest man in the world)

Become comfortable with not knowing. Eckhart Tolle

letting go quotes doing nothing highest duties gk chesterton wisdom

Doing nothing is sometimes one of the highest of the duties of man. G.K. Chesterton

Choose the non-emotional response to any given situation and see how much easier your life becomes. Naval Ravikant

The way of love is the way of no-expectation. Love exists only when there is a total acceptance and no desire to change anything. Osho

Take a step back and realize most things are distractions. Maxime Lagacé

One’s doing well if age improves even slightly one’s capacity to hold on to that vital truism: “This too shall pass”. Alain de Botton

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

Let go of the battle. Breathe quietly and let it be. Let your body relax and your heart soften. Open to whatever you experience without fighting. Jack Kornfield

You can’t be happy if you’re not peaceful. You can’t be peaceful if you don’t let go. Maxime Lagacé

Accept what is, let go of what was, have faith in what will be. Sonia Ricotti

Letting go is not weak. It’s being wise, courageous, and strong. Maxime Lagacé

Let go and just do your own work. Ajahn Chah

To resist change, to try to cling to life, is like holding your breath: if you persist you kill yourself. Alan Watts

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

Observe things as they are and don’t pay attention to other people. Huang Po

All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on. Henry Havelock Ellis

When we give too many f*cks, when we choose to give a f*ck about everything, then we feel as though we are perpetually entitled to feel comfortable and happy at all times – that’s when life f*cks us. Mark Manson

Don’t seek, don’t search, don’t ask, don’t knock, don’t demand – relax. Osho

Related

Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. Lao Tzu

The nearer a man comes to a calm mind, the closer he is to strength. Marcus Aurelius

Enjoy what you can and ignore the rest. Let’s not waste any energy fighting things that are outside our control. Paulo Coelho

Without desire there is stillness, and the world settles by itself. Lao Tzu

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

Only when you can be extremely pliable and soft can you be extremely hard and strong. Zen proverb

Don’t hope that events will turn out the way you want, welcome events in whichever way they happen: this is the path to peace. Epictetus

More Quotes About Letting Go

A rational person can find peace by cultivating indifference to things outside of their control. Naval Ravikant

Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace. 14th Dalai Lama

From my own limited experience I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. 14th Dalai Lama

There is a huge amount of freedom that comes to you when you take nothing personally. Don Miguel Ruiz (The Four Agreements)

Celebration is my attitude, unconditional to what life brings. Osho

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. They prefer suffering that is familiar to the unknown. Thich Nhat Hanh

A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone. Henry David Thoreau

The first half of life is devoted to forming a healthy ego, the second half is going inward and letting go of it. Carl Jung

Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure. Oprah Winfrey

There are two ways to be. One is at war with reality and the other is at peace. Byron Katie

Just be, and enjoy being. Eckhart Tolle

Dare to live by letting go. Tom Althouse

Letting go is not giving up. Mingyur Rinpoche

Let it all go, see what stays. Osho

Learning to live is learning to let go. Sogyal Rinpoche

Learning to let go is learning to accept. Maxime Lagacé

You have got to let go and let it happen. Alan Watts

Don’t try to force anything. Let life be a deep let-go. Osho

Related: 21 Tips For How To Let Go of the Past (antimaximalist.com)

Life moves on and so should we. Spencer Johnson

Feelings are just visitors. Let them come and go. Mooji

Cease striving. Then there will be transformation. Zhuangzi

If you let go of your story, you get to live your life. Neil Strauss

Have a mind that is open to everything, and attached to nothing. Tilopa

Whatever comes, don’t push it away. When it goes, do not grieve. Mooji

If you let go a little you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot you will have a lot of peace. Ajahn Chah

The beautiful journey of today can only begin when we learn to let go of yesterday. Steve Maraboli

letting go quotes present moment contains chosen eckhart tolle wisdom

Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Eckhart Tolle

Letting go doesn’t mean you give up. It means you keep going but you’re not attached to the outcome. Maxime Lagacé

We must learn to let things flow just like breath, and life will do the rest. Iyanla Vanzant

If there is no contradiction whatsoever you have abundance of energy. Jiddu Krishnamurti

The weak need others to know their worth. The strong know their worth. The wise just do their best. Maxime Lagacé

Let go of all understanding. Here it is. Mooji

Focus on having the life you want, not wanting the life you had. Marissa Zheng (atozenlife.com)

Three things you are in control of: your response to your feelings, what you hold onto, what you let go. Dhiman

letting go quotes when let what become might lao tzu wisdom

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. Lao Tzu

Let your mind wander in the pure and simple. Be one with the infinite. Let all things take their course. Zhuangzi

Care too little and you’ll eventually feel useless. Care too much and you’ll live in misery. Find out what’s worth suffering for. Maxime Lagacé

If you can be patient, just a little patient and allow whatever is happening, soon you will be aware of a new quality in your being. Osho

Enlightenment is not a desire, is not a goal, is not an ambition. It is a dropping of all goals, a dropping of all desires, a dropping of all ambitions. It is just being natural. That’s what is meant by flowing. Osho

It is inner stillness that will save and transform the world. Eckhart Tolle

Trust simply means that whatever happens we are with it, joyously, not reluctantly, not unwillingly – then you miss the whole point – but dancingly, with a song, with laughter, with love. Whatever happens is for the good. Osho

Letting go is never easy. There is not short-cut or trick to it. You must be committed enough to your future to let go of your past. It’s not easy and it’s likely to hurt, but it is for the best. Steve Maraboli

Knowledge is learning something every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day. Zen proverb

Key Takeaways

Letting go is saying goodbye to what no longer serves us.
Holding on for too long can lead to misery.
Letting go is being more spontaneous and trusting life has better plans for us.
What you should let go of?
- Toxic habits
- Toxic people
- Toxic ideologies
Your life gets better when:
- You stop expecting
- You stop overthinking
- You stop trying to control everything
- And you smile more