"There is progress whether ye are going forward or backward! The thing is to move!"
About this Quote
The subtext is pragmatic and a little slippery. If you can call backward motion "progress", you can sanctify mistakes, detours, even self-sabotage as necessary steps in a larger unfolding. That can be liberating for people trapped in perfectionism or fear. It can also be a convenient loophole for a worldview that resists falsification: if any outcome counts as growth, nothing ever truly disproves the method.
"The thing is to move!" lands like a pep talk before the mic drop. It's anti-rumination, pro-experiment, and deeply American in its suspicion of stasis. In an era of economic shocks, war, and booming self-improvement culture, Cayce offers a spiritualized version of hustle: action as faith, movement as proof of life. The line works because it takes anxiety about being wrong and converts it into permission to begin.
Quote Details
| Topic | Motivational |
|---|---|
| Source | Later attribution: Take Charge of Life Live Your Ideal (Marianne Maynard, 2005) modern compilationISBN: 9780595366125 · ID: mTU1Uh2c3EoC
Evidence:
... There is progress whether ye are going forward or backward! The thing is to move! Edgar Cayce (3027-2). Emotional. Stress. and. Illness. Taking charge of your life includes recognizing and accepting emotions and feelings. Respecting your ... |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Cayce, Edgar. (2026, March 12). There is progress whether ye are going forward or backward! The thing is to move! FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/there-is-progress-whether-ye-are-going-forward-or-136831/
Chicago Style
Cayce, Edgar. "There is progress whether ye are going forward or backward! The thing is to move!" FixQuotes. March 12, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/there-is-progress-whether-ye-are-going-forward-or-136831/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"There is progress whether ye are going forward or backward! The thing is to move!" FixQuotes, 12 Mar. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/there-is-progress-whether-ye-are-going-forward-or-136831/. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.











