Getting over an ex-romantic partner is never easy, whether the breakup is still fresh in your mind or occurred years or even decades in the past. The bonds we form with those we love run so deep that severing them is always a painful challenge, one that takes a toll on the body and mind.
But relationships often come to an end for good reasons, even if those reasons may be hard to remember or recognize when we’re missing that previously special someone. What’s important is that we take all the time we need to heal so we can end up stronger and prepare ourselves for the next person who walks into our lives.
Whether we’ve since found another love, we’re still looking, or we’ve chosen to remain single, it’s only natural for all of us to reflect on past relationships in our own ways. Some people may think about (or even see) their exes every day, while others may randomly recall a passing memory here and there. It’s totally fine and normal to spend time thinking about the people who’ve played major roles in our lives.
But at the same time, excessively dwelling on the past can hold us back and prevent us from realizing the full potential of our future. Here are 13 quotes about moving on from former loves to help all of us appreciate and move on from those relationships that have affected us so deeply. After all, every relationship qualifies as a success if it helps us develop into wiser, more self-aware people.
Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.Raymond Lindquist
Every time your heart is broken, a doorway cracks open to a world full of new beginnings, new opportunities.Patti Roberts
Cry. Forgive. Learn. Move on. Let your tears water the seeds of your future happiness.Steve Maraboli
The emotion that can break your heart is sometimes the very one that heals it.Nicholas Sparks
The right one for you will move mountains to be with you. He won’t hide behind them.Mandy Hale
‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.Roy T. Bennett
Hearts will never be practical until they are made unbreakable.The Wizard (Frank Morgan) in “The Wizard of Oz”
Some people are going to leave. But that’s not the end of your story. That’s the end of their part in your story.Faraaz Sadruddin Kazi
Why do you cling to pain? There is nothing you can do about the wrongs of yesterday. It is not yours to judge. Why hold on to the very thing which keeps you from hope and love?Leo Buscaglia
Don’t cry when the sun is gone, because the tears won’t let you see the stars.Violeta Parra
A broken heart is just the growing pains necessary so that you can love more completely when the real thing comes along.J.S.B. Morse
Love is never lost. If not reciprocated it will flow back and soften and purify the heart.Washington Irving
Featured image credit: Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images
