60 Forgive and Forget Quotes to Move Past Your Pain

These forgive and forget quotes will equip you with the strength you need to overcome all your resentment and sadness in life!

When we’ve been hurt by someone we love, it’s hard to forgive them for the pain they caused.

More than that, it’s especially hard to forget what they’ve done. But, we must remember that to truly move on and move forward, one cannot exist without the other; we must forgive and forget.

It’ll take time, and you’ll have to go through multiple stages of your grief. However, as long as you keep an open heart and mind, in time, you’ll learn to forgive and forget the one who caused your heart to break.

Forgiving and forgetting are the only ways to achieve a happy and peaceful life.

So, no matter how hard it will be, you should continue trying!

Let’s start.

And make sure to check out these forget the past quotes.

Best Forgive and Forget Quotes

1. “Forgive and forget. It may not change the past, but it gives the future a chance.” – Anonymous

2. “Do not let the shadows of your past darken the doorstep of your future. Forgive and forget.” – Anonymous

3. “Forgiving people who have hurt you is your gift to them. Forgetting people who have hurt you is your gift to you.” – Anonymous

4. “The best deed of a great man is to forgive and forget.” – Ali ibn Abi Talib

5. “You owe it to yourself to forgive and forget. Holding grudges is like punishing yourself for others’ actions and rewarding them for hurting you.” – Majid Kazmi

6. “It is not ‘forgive and forget,’ as if nothing wrong had ever happened, but ‘forgive and go forward,’ building on the past mistakes and the energy generated by reconciliation to create a new future.” – Alan Paton

Famous Forgive and Forget Quotes

7. “You have to forgive to forget, and forget to feel again.” – Anonymous

8. “Always forgive, but never forget. Learn from your mistakes, but never regret.” – Anonymous

9. “Forget what hurt you, but never forget what it taught you.” – Anonymous

10. “Time says forgive, eternity says forget.” – Matshona Dhliwayo

11. “To forgive takes love; to forget takes humility.” – Anonymous

Forgive and Forget Quotes to Inspire You to Move On

12. “The first to apologize is the bravest. The first to forgive is the strongest, and the first to forget is the happiest.” – Anonymous

13. “Forgive; you will have happiness. Forget; you will have satisfaction. Forgive and forget; you will have everlasting peace within and without.” – Sri Chinmoy

14. “Move on, don’t let the little things in life hold you back. Forget, forgive, and move on.” – Anonymous

15. “Forgiving is not forgetting. Forgiving is remembering without pain.” – Celia Cruz

Short Forgive and Forget Quotes to Remember

16. “Forgive and forget, not revenge and regret.” – Anonymous

17. “Forgive, yes. Forget, never.” – Anonymous

18. “We cannot simply forgive and forget, nor should we.” – Sharon Salzberg

19. “Forget your past, forgive yourself and begin again.” – Anonymous

20. “Forgive to forget.” – Anonymous

21. “If you can’t forgive and forget, then pick one and do it.” – James Brault

22. “I always forgive, but I never forget.” – Anonymous

Also read: Short Quotes

Forgive and Forget Quotes That’ll Help You Navigate Life

23. “So forgive and forget the past baggage of life to refresh your life.” – Debasish Mridha

24. “You’ve got to take the good with the sad, love what you’ve got, and remember what you had. Always forgive, but never forget. Learn from mistakes but never regret.” – Anonymous

25. “Always forgive, but never forget; else, you will be a prisoner of your own hatred and doomed to repeat your mistakes forever.” – Anonymous

26. “Life is too short. I forgive and forget. I have no time to get mad or hate.” – Debasish Mridha

27. “First, forgive. Second, forget by choosing not to dwell on that which is forgiven and in the past. We have no right to keep in front of us what God has put behind Him.” – David Jeremiah

28. “A lot of people, when they say forgive and forget, they think you completely wash your brain out and forget everything. That is not the concept. What I think is you forgive, and you forget so you can transform your experiences, not necessarily forget them but transform them so that they don’t haunt you or handicap you or kill you.” – Ishmael Beah

Forgive and Forget Quotes for Those Whose Hearts Have Been Broken

29. “Sometimes you have to forgive and forget—forgive them for hurting you, and forget they even exist.” – Anonymous

30. “Forgive them and forget them. Holding onto anger and bitterness consumes you, not them.” – Anonymous

31. “I forgive but never forget because I never want to be hurt the same way twice.” – Anonymous

32. “Forgive and forget? I forgave you, but I will never forget what you did to me.” – Anonymous

33. “The only thing left to do is forgive and forget. I want to forgive you, and I want to forget you.” – Lauren Conrad

34. “Forgiveness is a clean lotion that heals the wounds of misunderstandings! To iron out the differences, get the painful sores dressed up; forgive and forget!” – Israelmore Ayivor

Forgive and Forget for People Who Need Comfort

35. “Burdens of life become lighter when your heart is filled with love, and we learn to forgive and forget with profound kindness.” – Debasish Mridha

36. “Appreciate those who love you, help those who need you, forgive those who hurt you, forget those who leave you.” – Anonymous

37. “Forgive and forget ugliness. Look around to find beauty and focus on it.” – Debasish Mridha

38. “People piss you off, but it’s always important to forgive and forget.” – Bella Hadid

Meaningful Forgive and Forget Quotes to Think About

39. “The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.” – Anonymous

40. “Some forgive and forget, more forgive and remember, most forgive and remind.” – Robert Breault

41. “The best kind of humans are the ones who never forget to forgive.” – Debasish Mridha

42. “It is unfortunate that in most cases when the sins of the father fall on the son it is because, unlike God, people refuse to forgive and forget and heap past wrongs upon innocent generations.” – E.A. Bucchianeri

43. “To forgive and forget means to throw away dearly bought experience.” – Arthur Schopenhauer

44. “Surely it is much more generous to forgive and remember than to forgive and forget.” – Maria Edgeworth

Forgive and Forget Quotes That’ll Pique Your Interest

45. “Forgiveness is not about forgetting. It is about letting go of another person’s throat.” – William P. Young

46. “What was the point of being able to forgive, when deep down, you both had to admit you’d never forget?” – Jodi Picoult

47. “Keep all your personalities out of your work. Forget and forgive.” – Ford Frick

48. “Pray you now, forget and forgive.” – William Shakespeare

49. “Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.” – Anonymous

Forgive and Forget Quotes From the Bible

50. “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” – Isaiah 43:25

51. “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” – Hebrews 8:12

52. “Then Peter came up and said to Him, ‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you 7 times, but 70 times 7.’” – Matthew 18:21-22

53. “Now, if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.” – 2 Corinthians 2:5-8 

54. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9

More Quotes About Forgiveness and Forgetting

55. “Forgiveness is a promise, not a feeling. When you forgive other people, you are making a promise never to use their past sins against them.” – Anonymous

56. “Let us talk about our love, joy, and happiness. Let us forgive and forget talking about misery and sadness.” – Debasish Mridha

57. “Most of us can forgive and forget; we just don’t want the other person to forget that we forgave.” – Ivern Ball

58. “‘I can forgive, but I cannot forget,’ is only another way of saying I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a canceled note—torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one.” – Henry Ward Beecher

59. “I think one should forgive and remember. If you forgive and forget in the usual sense, you’re just driving what you remember into the subconscious; it stays there and festers. But to look, even regularly, upon what you remember and know you’ve forgiven is an achievement.” – Faith Baldwin

60. “Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this. Men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.” – Robert Jordan

Do You Believe In Forgiving and Forgetting, No Matter How Badly You’ve Been Hurt?

When we live wallowing in our pain, we will never be able to live our lives to the fullest. We’ll get stuck thinking that there’s nothing good left for this world to offer. However, that’s not true; we only need to learn how to move past all our resentment and anger.

Sadly, some believe forgiving others is enough to rise above the pain. They think that once they’ve said, “I forgive you,” then everything will be left in the past. Most of the time, though, if we just forgive without forgetting, there will still be lingering hurts that will pinch our hearts from time to time whenever we think about the pain inflicted on us.

This is why we should also forget after we forgive. When we choose to forget, we let go of everything that comes along with the pain we’ve been inflicted. Only through fully forgiving and forgetting can we truly move on and live a happier life.

It’ll be hard, draining, and sometimes even seem impossible. So, whenever you feel demotivated, read this list of forgive and forget quotes again. Actively choose to move past your pain and start living a much more carefree life!

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Karen Danao

Hi, I’m Karen, a content curator and writer for Quote Ambition; I’m also a marketing and advertising professional. Beyond the keyboard and the screen, I’m someone who’s out to enjoy every bit that life has to offer!

Poetry, philosophy, history, and movies are all topics I love writing about! However, my true passion is in traveling, photography, and finding common ground to which everyone from different cultures can relate.

With the many places I’ve been to, I found that love, inspiration, and happiness are some things that bring people together. No matter how different we are on the outside, I’m a true believer that our emotions don’t lie; if you dig deep into our psyche, we’re all the same inside.

This belief was further amplified when I joined Quote Ambition. Through the quotes I’ve read, collected, organized, and written about, I found that humans are resilient, creative, and compassionate.

We take from each others’ hearts and courage, and it’s through our individual experiences that we learn how to rise above our challenges and pain. In so many ways, Quote Ambition is a platform that allows people from all over the world to gain the inspiration they need anytime, anywhere!

You can find me on MuckRack and LinkedIn.