Moving On and Moving Up: 20 Powerful Quotes on Change and Growth

As I sit on my couch surrounded by the sight and smell of roughly 837 cardboard boxes filled with the clothes, plates and tchotchkes of my life, it is hard not to think about change. At the end of the month, the apartment I’ve lived in for the past 8 years will be razed and replaced by townhomes that will be shiny and pristine and cost more than I’ve made in my lifetime. And even though I was ready to leave this place and am breathlessly excited for my upcoming move, I am filled with several, often conflicting thoughts and emotions.

This decision to change has been partly my own (I could have stayed in the same city) and partly not (capitalism is a tough train to stop) and I’ve realized that both situations can provide moments of excitement and anxiety. When change is of our own doing, there is great freedom and possibility. When we want to move to a new city or switch careers or learn a new language, there are countless options, and it can be empowering to know that we can go in any direction we choose. At the same time, the sheer number of options can become overwhelming, as we expend our energy agonizing over which decision is the right one. The best one. As if there could only be one. When the change is not of our own doing, there may be similar thoughts and feelings. There may be a sense of relief and release knowing it is out our control. On the other hand, there may be feelings of helplessness and ineffectiveness, knowing there is nothing that can be done.

You don’t need me to tell you that change is hard. Even when it is of our own doing and we cannot wait for it to come. As humans, we are naturally drawn to homeostasis even when it is undesirable, unwanted or outright self-destructive. The devil you know versus the devil you don’t, we often hear people say. But holding on to the way things are will never get us to where we want things to be. We may not always get to choose the changes that come our way, but we can always choose the way we grow from them. So whether you are going through a major life change or a minor one, and whether that change is of your own volition or not, recognize the growth opportunity in all of it. Through the struggle of unknowing and readjusting lies the opportunity for something new and exciting and different. How will you embrace this current change? How will you emerge stronger on the other side?

As I prepare to tackle my to do list for the day (that mostly includes updating my address on no less than 64 accounts that are linked to it), I would like to share some of my most treasured quotes and thoughts on change. May you find some comfort, inspiration and wisdom in the words below. Above all else, may you summon the courage to create the change you have been seeking. If not know, when? 

You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down but the staying down- Mary Pickford

Let today be the day you love yourself enough to no longer just dream of a better life; let it be the day you act upon it- Steve Maraboli

I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better. -Georg C. Lichtenberg

 Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself- Leo Tolstoy

Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change- Wayne W. Dyer

It’s your place in the world; it’s your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live- Mae Jemison

Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong- Mandy Hale

We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us- Joseph Campbell

Progress is impossible without change and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything- George Bernard Shaw

Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself- Rumi

Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true- Ralph Waldo Emerson.

We cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are- Max DePree

You are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here now with the power to shape your day and your future- Steve Maraboli

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason ont to follow your heart- Steve Jobs

I believe in the person I want to become- Lana Del Ray

We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations- Charles Swindoll

The secret to living the life of your dreams is to start living the life of your dreams today in every little way you possibly can- Mike Dooley

It is never too late to be what you might have been- George Eliot

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance- Alan Watt

For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you mkae the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again- F. Scott Fitzgerald