70 Surrender Quotes to Teach You When to Push On and When to Give Up

In exploring the transformative power of surrender, these quotes become beacons of solace, guiding us through the tumultuous terrain of life.

They offer insights on acceptance and resilience, especially in the aftermath of a challenging break-up or other major life shift.

When you encounter them, you have a choice to make.

You can either throw in the towel and surrender, or you can fight through and stick with it.

It may seem like it’s always the best idea to push through and to “never surrender,” as you’ve probably heard before.

But are there times when it’s actually better to surrender?

These surrender quotes will help you learn when it is a better decision to give up and when it’s right to keep up the fight.

Surrender quotes on when it’s good to give up

1. “The moment of surrender is not when life is over, it’s when it begins.” – Marianne Williamson

2. “What is given to you is what is needed; what you want, requires giving up what you don’t need.” – George Alexiou

3. “The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven’t yet come to the end of themselves. We’re still trying to give orders, and interfering with God’s work within us. ” – A.W. Tozer

4. “Growth demands a temporary surrender of security.” – Gail Sheehy

5. “Surrender is like a fish finding the current and going with it.” – Mark Nepo

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6. “To design the future effectively, you must first let go of your past.” – Charles J. Givens

7. “It’s healthy to say uncle when your bone’s about to break.” – Jonathan Franzen

8. “Be lost. Give up. Give In. in the end, it would be better to surrender before you begin. be lost. Be lost And then you will not care if you are ever found.” – Victoria Schwab

9. “Choosing joy involves spiritual surrender.” – Marianne Williamson

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Surrender quotes on why it’s good to surrender

10. “If you surrender completely to the moments as they pass, you live more richly those moments.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

11. “You need to trust. To surrender. To ask for guidance. Go within for the answers. They’re within you. You have the answers. All you need to do is ask.” – Karen Hackel

12. “Surrender is not a weakness, it is a strength. It takes tremendous strength to surrender life to the supreme – to the cosmic unfolding.” – Mooji

13. “The more material we lose, the less we have. The less we have, the more we win.” – Anthony Liccione

14. “Sometimes, it’s not the times you decide to fight, but the times you decide to surrender, that makes all the difference.” – Sissy Gavrilaki

15. “When total surrender happens, suffering is removed, duality is removed, too.” – Mohanji

16. “The more you go with the flow of life and surrender the outcome to God, and the less you seek constant clarity, the more you will find that fabulous things start to show up in your life.” – Mandy Hale

17. “Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.” – Ann Landers

18. “You have no choice. You must leave your ego on the doorstep before you enter love.” – Kamand Kojouri

19. “The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.” – William Booth

20. “Often times, the greatest peace comes of surrender.” – Richard Paul Evans

21. “One thing I’ve learned about life is that if you really let go, it’s just a joy ride.” – Ricky Williams

22. “We are at our most powerful the moment we no longer need to be powerful.” – Eric Micha’el Leventhal

Surrender quotes on when you shouldn’t give up

23. “Never give up, which is the lesson I learned from boxing. As soon as you learn to never give up, you have to learn the power and wisdom of unconditional surrender, and that one doesn’t cancel out the other; they just exist as contradictions. The wisdom of it comes as you get older.” – Kris Kristofferson

24. “Keep your feet on the ground, but let your heart soar as high as it will. Refuse to be average or to surrender to the chill of your spiritual environment.” – Arthur Helps

25. “It is better to risk starving to death than surrender. If you give up on your dreams, what’s left?” – Jim Carrey

26. “If I’m gonna go down I’m gonna do it with style. You won’t hear me surrender, you won’t hear me confess cause you’ve left me with nothing but I have worked with less.” – Ani DiFranco

27. “If you fall behind, run faster. Never give up, never surrender, and rise up against the odds.” – Jesse Jackson

28. “My friends, no matter how rough the road may be, we can and we will, never, never surrender to what is right.” – Dan Quayle

29. “The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.” – John F. Kennedy

Meaningful surrender quotes

30. “Sometimes surrender means giving up trying to understand and becoming comfortable with not knowing.” – Eckhart Tolle

31. “Fear, anxiety, arousal, and pain; all are emotions and sensations. They are neither right nor are they wrong; good nor bad. They are simply passions, a most important part of life. Feel them, fully experience them, surrender to them, and learn to accept them. As a submissive, you must let go.” – Nikki Sex

32. “Letting go means to come to the realization that some people are a part of your history, but not a part of your destiny.” – Steve Maraboli

33. “Control and surrender have to be kept in balance. That’s what surfers do – take control of the situation, then be carried, then take control. In the last few thousand years, we’ve become incredibly adept technically. We’ve treasured the controlling part of ourselves and neglected the surrendering part.” – Brian Eno

34. “You are only a prisoner when you surrender.” – Tad Williams

35. “Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

36. “Love is total surrender, total acceptance and total commitment.” – Lailah Gifty Akita

37. “One does not surrender a life in an instant. That which is lifelong can only be surrendered in a lifetime.” – Elisabeth Elliot

38. “Silence is complicity. Speak now or surrender your ground.” – Michelle Malkin

39. “There’s a victory in letting go of your expectations.” – Mike White

Surrender quotes to inspire and teach

40. “Surrender is a journey from outer turmoil to inner peace.” – Sri Chinmoy

41. “Don’t despair: despair suggests you are in total control and know what is coming. You don’t – surrender to events with hope.” – Alain de Botton

42. “Reason lost the battle, and all I could do was surrender and accept I was in love.” – Paulo Coelho

43. “Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.” – Oprah Winfrey

44. “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” – Winston Churchill

45. “Never surrender opportunity for security.” – Branch Rickey

46. “No man is great enough or wise enough for any of us to surrender our destiny to. The only way in which anyone can lead us is to restore to us the belief in our own guidance.” – Henry Miller

47. “Do not yield. Do not flinch. Stand up. Stand up with our President and fight. We’re Americans. We’re Americans, and we’ll never surrender. They will.” – John McCain

48. “The creative process is a process of surrender, no control.” – Julia Cameron

49. “Surrender is a powerful force.” – P.C. Cast

50. “I wonder if pain comes from surrendering or resisting?” – Donna Lynn Hope

More surrender quotes and sayings

51. “It is always difficult to surrender what exists for what might be.” – Steven Redhead

52. “Never give up, but learn to surrender as well.” – Zain Baloch

53. “Surrendering to God is not passive resignation, fatalism, or an excuse for laziness.” – Rick Warren

54. “I may not be free, but I’m not about to surrender the illusion of choice.” – Johnny Rich

55. “Sometimes it is no great shame to give in, even to despair, provided that it is just for a little while. Sometimes a little surrender is good for the soul.” – Alexia Casale

56. “Surrender is when we stop toiling and striving and we begin receiving and arriving. Nothing is more beautiful to experience than the inner rest that follows surrender.” – Shannon Tanner

57. “It’s easier to surrender to confinement.” – Jhumpa Lahiri

58. “Allow yourself to let go, surrender, and breathe in the beautiful world that is waiting for you just outside of your comfort zone.” – Leigh Hershkovich

59. “We think it’s weak to surrender, but sometimes it’s the bravest thing we can possibly do.” – Toni Sorenson

60. “In order to pick something up, you’ve got to put something down.” – Todd Stocker

Surrender quotes to learn and live by

61. “Something amazing happens when we surrender and just love. We melt into another world, a realm of power already within us. The world changes when we change. The world softens when we soften. The world loves us when we choose to love the world.” ― Marianne Williamson

62. “At fifteen life had taught me undeniably that surrender, in its place, was as honorable as resistance, especially if one had no choice.” ― Maya Angelou

63. “The gap between compassion and surrender is love’s darkest, deepest region.” ― Orhan Pamuk

64. “There is no such thing as helplessness. It’s just another word for giving up.” ― Jefferson Smith

65. “Love or hatred calls for self-surrender. He cuts a fine figure, the warm-blooded, prosperous man, solidly entrenched in his well-being, who one fine day surrenders all to love—or to hatred; himself, his house, his land, his memories.” ― Jean-Paul Sartre

66. “Oh, the sweetness of giving in, of full surrender.” ― Sebastian Faulks

67. The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.” ― Vince Lombardi

68. “All compromise is based on give and take, but there can be no give and take on fundamentals. Any compromise on mere fundamentals is a surrender. For it is all give and no take.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

69. “Not voting is not a protest. It is a surrender.” ― Keith Ellison

70. “Always say ‘yes’ to the present moment… Surrender to what is. Say ‘yes’ to life – and see how life starts suddenly to start working for you rather than against you.” ― Eckhart Tolle

What did you learn from these surrender quotes?

As you can see, there are some things in life that we need to surrender in order to live a good life.

When we hold onto things that we shouldn’t it can make life more difficult for us in the long run.

However, we can’t always just assume it’s better to surrender either.

There are times when you have to get determined not to surrender even though it might be the easier way to go.

Use these quotes to help you discern what things in your life need to be surrendered and what things don’t.

And remember, what’s right for one person isn’t automatically right for another when it comes to surrendering.

What’s your biggest takeaway from these surrender quotes and sayings?

Do you have any other favorite quotes to add?

Let us know in the comment section below.