quotes, quotations and passages on holding on

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

Havelock Ellis

Some people believe that holding on and hanging there are signs of strength, but there are times in life when it takes much more strength just to let go. Ann Landers

Holding on is believing that there’s only a past; letting go is knowing that there’s a future. Daphne Rose Kingma

We can't be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don't have something better. C. JoyBell C.

Holding on doesn't challenge us at all, especially if we're latched on tightly to something. How many people do you know have held on to unfulfilling or even damaging relationships because they've been afraid that if they let it go, they won't find anyone new? Being hooked into this relationship doesn't take much effort, while ending it and finding something new would challenge us to step outside of our comfort zones and grow as people. I've worked at places where most of the people were not at all content with their situations, but their paychecks gave them a security that they weren't willing to risk. The people who left almost always found work that was more fulfilling and rewarding, but that didn't sway the people who were holding on because it seemed the safe thing to do. tom walsh

We can't be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you
are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is
such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you
now, may be the very reason why you don't have something better.

C. JoyBell C.

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The only things we can keep are the things we freely give to God.
What we try to keep for ourselves is just what we are sure to lose.

C.S. Lewis

Today expect something good to happen to you no matter what
occurred yesterday. Realize the past no longer holds you captive.
It can only continue to hurt you if you hold on to it. Let the past go.
A simply abundant world awaits.

Sarah Ban Breathnach
Simple Abundance

It is the things we always hold
That we will lose someday.
The only things we keep
Are those we give away.

I wish I could share the crop rotation metaphor in a way that my closest
friends could understand. I see the need to rotate their spirits in their
demeanor every day. They seem to be literally devoid of oxygen, with
faces gray and listless. They remain attached to jobs and relationships
that have fed them well along the way but are now exhausted of the fertile,
disease-free nutrients that they need to continue growing. They hold on
for dear life, afraid that they'll never find the same security again. What
they don't realize is that they have learned to survive on far less than they
need in order to realize their full potential. When they do pick up and
move, their growth is immediately exponential. The lights turn on in their
eyes, there is the undeniable excitement about every day
that no one should be without.

Vivian Elisabeth Glyck
12 Lessons on Life I Learned from My Garden

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

Hermann Hesse

You can sometimes look at somebody, and on a scale of one to ten,
you can almost measure the amount of pain that they're carrying around
with them. Pain that, no doubt to them--not to make it wrong--no doubt
is very real. But also pain which is no longer serving them, and has very
little to do with here and now, but has to do with there and then. And
these are people who will simply not--because they think that they can't
(not that they don't want to, but they absolutely have themselves
convinced that they can't)--let go of it. . . .
To hang on to that, and to make that part of their living reality, through
all those days and times, does nothing, of course, but allow the person
who did that original damage to continue doing the same damage for
thirty years--and to do it over and over and over again.

Neale Donald Walsch
Little Book of Life

We need to distinguish between perseverance--hanging in there--and holding
on. So often our holding on is related to something that has already passed.
It's over and done with, and yet we don't want it to be over. We exert our
will to hold on, often with disastrous results.
When we hang in there, we stick with a situation or person for as long as
the situation or the person requires it. Our hanging-in behavior is appropriate
and related to the situation: it is not just self-will or stubbornness.
Perseverance is continuing to work at something for as long as there is value
in working at it. Perseverance is being appropriately related to ourselves, the
situation, and others involved. It is the commitment to seeing something through
to completion and the ability to recognize when that completion has been reached.

Anne Wilson Schaef
Meditations for Living in Balance

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent
of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.

Buddha

Holding on to things from the past is the same as clinging to an
image of yourself in the past. If you're the least bit interested in
changing anything about yourself, I suggest you be brave
and start letting things go.

Fumio Sasaki

I don't believe there is any point in holding on to too many things in life.

Katrina Kaif

There ain’t no way you can hold on to something that wants to go,
you understand? You can only love what you got while you got it.

Kate DiCamillo

The reality is that sometimes, it takes more strength
to let go than it does to keep holding on.

Amari Soul

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

Havelock Ellis

The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.

Audrey Hepburn

To experience emotional freedom, we must accept, surrender, and
let go of our wounds. We must be willing to take responsibility for
what we're holding on to, which is usually a hurt or pain from
the past that leaves us feeling victimized.

Debbie Ford

When you don't flow freely with life in the present moment, it usually
means that you're holding on to a past moment. It can be regret, sadness,
hurt, fear, guilt, blame, anger, resentment, or sometimes even a desire for
revenge. Each one of these states comes from a space of unforgiveness,
a refusal to let go and come into the present moment.
Only in the present moment can you create your future.

Louise Hay

People try to hold onto the sameness. This holding onto prevents growth.

Bruce Lee

We give up what we want to give up and keep what in some
way we still want to keep. There are payoffs for holding on
to small, weak patterns. We have an excuse not to shine. We
don't have to take responsibility for the world when we're
spending all our time in emotional pain. We're too busy. The
truth that sets us free is an embrace of the divine within us.

Marianne Williamson

What we don't recognize is that holding onto resentment is
like holding your breath. You'll soon start to suffocate.

Deepak Chopra

If you're holding on to an offense, then you haven't forgiven
the person who hurt you. Unforgiveness finds excuses to talk
about what people have done to us, and we'll tell anyone who
will listen. There's a difference between sharing your testimony
to help someone and talking about what's been done
to you because you are angry about it.

Joyce Meyer

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few
you should hold on. The older you get, the more you need
the people who knew you when you were young.

Mary Schmich
mock graduation address

When a thing has served its purpose, it will go away. Sometimes
it will break. At other times, it will simply die off. Then, there are
those times when for no reason, it will simply fall apart. If you try
to hold on to something that has already fulfilled its purpose in
your life, you are going to hurt yourself. If holding on is disturbing
your peace of mind, it makes sense to let it go.

Iyanla Vanzant