There are all these moments you don’t think you will survive. And then you survive — David Levithan
Life goes on. It’s not a motivational quote; it is the truth. This is perhaps life’s most persevering trait. No matter how catastrophic, disastrous, disappointing, or shocking a situation can be, life saunters on anyway.
When you lose what you love, remember to stay strong. Look out the window and remember that life goes on — Drew Chadwick.
I love quotes and how they affirm what we know (or think we know) about ourselves, so I’ll be using several ‘life goes on’ quotes to inspire you to look past what you’re going through today and see that a better tomorrow awaits you.
There’s Always Something Better
Things end. People change. And you know what? Life goes on. Besides, if bad things didn’t happen, how would you be able to feel the good ones? – Elizabeth Scott.
As we all should know by now, we will go through difficulties at some point in our lives, and although I hate to break it to you like this, bad things have to open. You had to get that divorce actually to meet the love of your life. You had to be fired from that job to give that dream business your best shot at monumental success.
Disappointments usually come disguised as blessings. Sometimes bad things happen to us in the middle of life to shake us out of a reverie or to enable us to face reality better instead of coasting away on fantasy and illusions. Sometimes we find ourselves in safe and easy positions, and we never truly believe that there’s anything else out there that could be better. But there is always something better. Whenever you lose something, life always slides you a much better premium upgrade. It’s like Kris Carr says, “the universe always has your back.”
Moving On After A Loss
It’s never nice to lose someone close to you; unfortunately, life goes on, and we have to make peace with it and move on – Francois Hougaard.
Losing close friends, family, well-wishers, or those who you thought would somehow always stick around should take the spot for the biggest pain of all time. No matter how familiar we are with death, it seems impossible for humanity to adapt to it.
Life is fleeting, and death is ever-present and consistent. Yet there is this persistent, powerful inherent human belief that death is somehow always very far from us when in reality, it is always very, very close.
Losing a dear person to the cold hands of death reminds us of our vulnerability and limitations as humans and also about the fact that our lives are temporary and short. Yet, we must move on and move forward with life even after such tragic events. Losing someone should serve as a way of bolstering you to follow your passion and work on your dreams because at the end of your time, what you should feel is fulfillment and not regret. It is normal to take some time out to grieve properly, and a support group can be helpful. Some people may find their strength in God, while others may choose therapy. Do what you need to do to heal, then pick yourself up, and continue working relentlessly on your legacy. Mac Miller couldn’t have articulated it better when he said, “Life goes on. Days get brighter.”
There are other ways in which we lose people. Sometimes we lose a person who is still actively alive. There was a time when you shared something special with them – a close friendship or a relationship – and then one day that chapter closes, and you find yourself stuck in a perpetual cycle of want, outrage, and sadness. You want them to stay, and you want things to go back to the old days. Something keeps you holding on tightly to nothing.
Weeks pass, months, even years, and you are still thinking of them, stalking, wanting, begging (the height of your desperation). It happens even to the best of us. Sometimes, logic needs to be forcefully applied. People change, and sometimes they change too much. Their part in your story is over, so why not just move on? Take Maira Kalman’s advice:
If something does go wrong, here is my advice: Keep calm and carry on.
Carry on. Your dreams are waiting, and life won’t give you what you want but what you demand. Joy always comes after a long season of pain. Mouloud Benzadi couldn’t have articulated it better when he wrote:
Always believe that:
The pain you have been feeling will soon go away.
Always believe that:
Joy is on the way.
Moving On After Losing Your Dreams
Regardless of how it goes down, life goes on – Rick Ross
Life works in wondrous and mysterious ways. As intelligent as the human mind is, there is still so much that we would never truly be able to comprehend. We have plans, but then, plans don’t always go according to plan.
One thing always sure life goes on with you or without you, no matter what you seen. – Lalita Tademy
It can hurt to lose dreams that you have harnessed, nurtured, and just when they seem to be blooming, they are snatched away from you. The grim truth is that each and every one of us will always have questions in our hearts that we have no answers to. The bright spot is that you can create new dreams. You can strike out at new opportunities. You can develop a passion for something new. You can be optimistic about better days ahead because better days are ahead. Things end. Nothing, I mean absolutely nothing, lasts forever. Why nurse regrets that will do nothing but hinder your progress, life will not wait for you. Famous poet Robert Frost once wisely said, “in three words, I can sum up everything I’ve ever learned about life: it goes on.”
Life operates on time which seems plentiful, but in reality, it’s minuscule. Having a sense of direction is always pertinent at every point in time. Like Toba beta said, “if you lose direction, go to a higher ground.”
Dealing With Changes
Life gets more interesting as it goes on. It becomes fuller because there is perspective there – Ann Dowd
The words “move on” are easy to blurt out, but they are not easy to put into practice in reality. Why? As humans, we understand that change is life’s constant, yet we find it so hard to adapt to change whenever it rolls around or crashes upon us. We find it hard to adapt to change because sometimes starting over is scary. We have no guarantees about anything, and then starting the process of adapting once again can trigger a new set of fears. But then just remember Billy Cox’s advice, “if you want to change what’s going on around you, change what’s going on within you.”
Instead of harboring fears of change and keeping a tight grip on your past, why not let go and try to make a difference around you? Focus on the present but first off, deal with what is going on inside of you.
Say what you want about life, but you can’t deny that it gives everyone multiple and fair fighting chances. As Albert Einstein said, “in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”
So, the question is, how do you adequately deal with a new life change and move on from the past?
Tune Out Regrets
“Life’s too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forgive the ones who don’t and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said it’d be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.” — Dr. Seuss
What valuable lessons did you gain from the last phase of your life? Will it help in this new phase? Do you have regrets? Memory is the most powerful tool of regret. Tuning out your regrets are hard, but you have to constantly make that conscious effort. Regrets are things you have to be petrified of because of their haunting qualities.
Understand That Things Change For The Better
Most times, when things change, there is always a reason. There’s always a blessing attached. Whether it’s your business, dream, marriage, or whatnot, Times and seasons come and go. Understand that you are in a different phase, and you probably will be for a while.
Be open-minded and exhibit positivity. According to Helen Hollick, “change has to come for life to struggle forward.”
If you are coming from a phase of sorrow, never forget this memorable quote by Cornelia Meigs, “life goes on after sorrow, in spite of sorrow, as a defense against sorrow.”
Beauty can rise from ashes. Dr. Seuss insightfully mentioned that it’s not about what it is. It’s about what it can become.
Take It Easy On Yourself
Yes, do take it easy on yourself. One day at a time, and soon, you will adapt to your new situation. Soon you will feel more like yourself, and your burst of energy, as well as your drive, will be back. Just make sure you keep moving. Stagnancy is never supposed to be an option. It’s never the answer. George Jung articulated it excellently when he explained that “life passes most people by when they are making grand plans for it.”
Finally, enjoy change. Enjoy it while it lasts and leave the past in the past. In the words of Judy Blume, “what’s the point of thinking about the end when it’s only just the beginning?”
Sometimes, just learn to live in the moment.
Growth Is The Only Way To Soar
“Dig deep, find your way to your soul”— Kami Garcia
Growth is painful, no doubt about it. And as you move on into a new phase of life, you must evolve and grow if you want to make gigantic strides. Growth is a very intentional process that requires conscious effort. You must be mentally ready to grow, start growing, and persist in growing no matter what. It is also the easiest way to test your level of perseverance and gauge your wins during your journey. Before you must fly, you must fall. That process of falling is you growing. But then you can’t grow if you are stuck in a vicious cycle of nothingness because you have refused to move on; neither can you grow if you keep making slow moves and looking back over your shoulder as you keep musing over your regrets.
What is the fastest way to move on and grow? Find something that sets your soul on fire and drown yourself in it. Most people don’t know that there is a difference between existing and living. But what the majority of us do is simply to exist from day to day. The same monotonous routine for days, weeks, and months, a decade to decade sameness until they die. No purpose, no challenges, no legacy. Nothing, just a bland existence that adds nothing to the world or the people around them.
“You can turn your wounds into wisdom. So move into something bigger and better.” — Oprah Winfrey
You only need one reason to live. There will always be thousands of reasons why you should stay stagnated or not put in the effort or the work. But you don’t need them. If you are looking for excuses, you’ll find a dime a dozen. But the point is that they don’t matter unless you make them matter. Live. Don’t just exist for no reason. Have a drive, a monumental dream that powers you every day to soar. Maya Angelou once said something memorably profound: “ my mission in life is not merely just to survive but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style.”
Challenge yourself. Have the courage to chase your dreams and immerse yourself in a growth process while at it. I promise it’s one of the best decisions you will ever make.
The Place Of Gratitude
So long as this struggle known as life goes on, there will always be music to fit the mood and make it better – Patrick James Balthazor.
Moving on from something or someone is tougher when you only focus on the negative. There is always something to be thankful for, even if you have to squint hard to see it. Happiness doesn’t always make us grateful, but gratitude always makes us smile. Gratitude seems simplistic on the surface, yet many of us find it hard to maintain a grateful mindset. It’s even more difficult when life has just dealt you a very hard blow. But it is at our lowest moments that we must learn how to be grateful the most.
A chapter in your life has just closed; a business shut down, a promising relationship hit the rocks, a flourishing career evaporates without warning, an awesome opportunity missed? Yes, it hurts, but you will only keep worsening your situation if you keep replaying the bad in your head and analyzing all the problems that could occur in the future. The most difficult part about moving forward is learning to stay in the present and living in the moment. You have to be present in your life and stop spiraling down the dregs of despair that come with living in the past.
Life is like a novel. It’s full of suspense. You have no idea what is going to happen until you turn the page – Sidney Sheldon.
Sidney Sheldon is one of the greatest writing titans of all time. However, he almost didn’t become this because he nearly took his own life during the great depression, when he was a teenager. Sheldon had lost all hope of things getting better at home, lost hope of ever fulfilling his dreams and making something out of himself. Moving forward was a laughable concept. But then, his father told him the above quote, and he agreed to give life one more try. If he had succeeded in terminating his life, his beautiful destiny would have been truncated and buried forever in the deep, and the world would have never been aware of his existence. Life would have thrummed on anyway; after all, people lose their destinies all the time.
Whenever you find yourself drifting back into the past or speculating about the future, then catch yourself and refocus powerfully on the present. Accept your life as it truly is because when you try to deflect reality or run from it, it can only bring ruination. Accept your situation, be grateful and then do everything to make the best out of it.
I have great expectations for the future because the past was highly overrated. – Sylvester Stallone.
Things change, and things go wrong, but understand that there is always a time to say goodbye and look forward to a brighter tomorrow. We all are just trying to find a place in this world. And the journey is anything but easy. It’s painful, difficult, downright exhausting, and riddled with uncertainties; nevertheless, we must undertake it.
There’s just no way we can have fruitful journeys if we won’t stop looking over our shoulders and biting our fingers in regrets, ruminating over what could have been. The future is steeped in bountiful, numerous, and endless possibilities. According to Tomas Transtromer, we are like vaults.
“Every abstract picture of the world is as impossible as the blueprint of the storm. Don’t be ashamed because you are human. Be proud! Inside you, vaults behind vaults open endlessly and that’s as it should be.” — Tomas Transtromer.
These inspirational quotes help you understand that there is hope and possibility as long as there is life. All you need is your courage to try one more time. The world is a vast and massive place with so much beauty to offer. Don’t deny yourself any of it because life hasn’t given you the answers you desperately seek. Why not move forward first? The answers will come in time. Time eventually whispers everything back to us. According to one of the world’s biggest recording artists;
“The lesson I’ve learned the most often in life is that you’re always going to know more in the future than you know now.” — Taylor Swift.
At some point, the understanding will come, but in the meantime, move on and do it fearlessly.