“Get your priorities straight!”
While I’m sure that we’ve all been scolded by our parents at one time or another with a statement like the above, sometimes even adults have to remind themselves what’s most important in their lives.
In today’s post, we’ll be expounding more on the concept of priorities and then providing you with some priority quotes to help get your mental juices flowing. Sometimes the best thing to do when you’ve lost your way is to stop and think things through.
Before we get to the quotes let’s dive into priorities and why this funny little word can make a big difference.
Why Read Priority Quotes
The word “priority” itself appears in literature in the 14th century. It’s either French or Latin in origin and it means something akin to an action that must be done first. So when someone asks what your priorities are, then it simply means what is most important to you.
Priorities are not always fixed things, and what seemed the biggest deal in the world to you ten years ago probably isn’t that big of a deal today. Your priorities help you to understand how to anchor your life in a way that’s most fulfilling for you.
While the term priorities might conjure up images of our parents telling us to brush our teeth before going to bed or do chores before playing with friends – it’s also equally as important to reflect on your priorities as an adult.
To use an example, it’s not uncommon as we get older that we see our friends less and less. This might make you feel guilty – but if you’re building a career, business, and/or have a family, it’s only natural – your priorities have changed.
In the next section, we’re going to provide you with a select bunch of priority quotes to help you think about your own priorities and the direction that you’re life is going in.
67 Priority Quotes on How to Identify What's Truly Important
- “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- “It’s easier to talk someone into brain surgery than to convince them to read a book.” – Howard Tayler
- “Only those who are well aware of the instability of life give importance to priorities in life.” – Nitin Namdeo
- “I mean, when I think about it, what’s more important? Clothes – or the miracle of new life?” – Sophie Kinsella
- “It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.” – Bruce Lee
- “Success is only another form of failure if we forget what our priorities should be.” – Harry Lloyd
- “Nothing is less productive than to make more efficient what should not be done at all.” – Peter Drucker
- “It is futile to put personality ahead of character, to try to improve relationships with others before improving ourselves.″ – Stephen R. Covey
- “Make priorities based on your goals and not desires.” – Nitin Namdeo
- “Most men I do not meet at all, for they seem not to have time; they are busy about their beans.” – Henry David Thoreau
- “Action expresses priorities.” – Mahatma Gandhi
- “Persistence. Perfection. Patience. Power. Prioritize your passion. It keeps you sane.” – Criss Jami
- “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” – Stephen R. Covey
- “If you just make every effort to do the right thing, you’ll come out ok. It comes down to priorities and making good decisions.” – Archie Manning
- “Physics isn't the most important thing. Love is.” – Richard P. Feynman
- “Having children obviously changes your priorities, but when you start to see life through these innocent eyes and seeing everything for the first time, you appreciate the small things.” – Nick Cannon
- “Be at least as interested in what goes on inside you as what happens outside. If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place.” – Eckhart Tolle
- “They spend more on fast food than on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, videos, and recorded music combined.” Eric Schlosser
- “There are good men out there. There are guys who have their priorities straight, who take care of their kids, who respect their mothers.” – Pepa
- “You need to make time for your family no matter what happens in your life” – Matthew Quick
- “I was one of those people who put too much emphasis on work and career and material possessions, and it took its toll on all my relationships, on my physical health, my emotional and mental health.” – Tony Shalhoub
- “Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.” – H. L. Hunt
- “The mark of a great man is one who knows when to set aside the important things in order to accomplish the vital ones.” – Brandon Sanderson
- “When men or women make their work their top priority and become hostile to the normal, natural needs of their children and spouse – obviously, something is wrong.” – Laura Schlessinger
- “Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option.” – Mark Twain
- “You won’t change until changing becomes one of your priorities instead of one of your options.” – Sonya Parker
- “Set priorities for your goals. A major part of successful living lies in the ability to put first things first. Indeed, the reason most major goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first.” – Robert J. McKain
- “Spend time with those you love. One of these days you will say either, ‘I wish I had’, or ‘I’m glad I did.” – Zig Ziglar
- “The life you have left is a gift. Cherish it. Enjoy it now, to the fullest. Do what matters, now.” – Leo Babauta
- “A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.” – Walt Whitman
- “Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it.” – Marcus Aurelius
- “Focus on your priorities before your priorities lose focus on you.” – Sarah Leigh
- “Change according to the Spirit all your priorities, and then joy is your own.” – Nirmala Srivastava
- “if you’re not careful with your yeses, you start to say no to some very important things without even realizing it.” – Shauna Niequist
- “The first step to regain control of time is to decide what activities are most important so that we can plan to give them the proper priority during a day or a week or a month.” – Charles E. Hummel
The first step to regain control of time is to decide what activities are most important so that we can plan to give them the proper priority during a day or a week or a month.” – Charles E. Hummel
- “There are so many more important things to worry about than how you're perceived by strangers.” – Dennis Lehane
- “It isn't what you earn but how spend it that fixes your class.” – Sinclair Lewis
- “The key to a good life is this: If you’re not going to talk about something during the last hour of your life, then don’t make it a top priority during your lifetime.” – Richard Carlson
- “To change your life, you need to change your priorities.” – Mark Twain
- “The most important thing in life is knowing the most important things in life.” – David F. Jakielo
- “Stop and take your time to notice things and make those things you notice matter.” – Cecelia Ahern
- “Let us reflect on what is truly of value in life, what gives meaning to our lives, and set our priorities on the basis of that.” – Dalai Lama
- “I do know that when I am 60, I should be attempting to achieve different personal goals than those which had priority at age 20.” – Warren Buffett
- “It’s not what you make but what you save that gets you out of debt.” – Suzanne Woods Fisher
- “Good things happen when you get your priorities straight.”– Scott Caan
- “Lack of time is actually lack of priorities.” – Tim Ferriss
- “There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do.” – Freya Stark
- “We don’t drift in good directions. We discipline and prioritize ourselves there.” – Andy Stanley
- “Secondary choices are always subordinate to a primary choice. Often there is no reason to make such choices outside the context of the primary choice that calls for them.” – Robert Fritz
- “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.” – Steve Jobs
- “Life is as simple as these three questions: What do I want? Why do I want it? And, how will I achieve it?” – Shannon L. Alder
- “Prioritize your problems and take care of them one at a time, the highest priority first. Don’t try to do everything at once or you won’t be successful.” – Jocko Willink
- “All of your precious resources – time, energy, talent, passion, and money – should only go to the areas of your life or your business that are best, are fixable, and are indispensable.” – Henry Cloud
- “To succeed today, you have to set priorities, decide what you stand for.” – Sarvesh Jain
- “Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.” – Lin Yutang
- “Invest your time where you most want to invest it, in the things you love.” – Marty Rubin
- “The most important thing anyone can do is raise their kids well.” – Claire Cross
- “Subtracting from your list of priorities is as important as adding to it.” -Frank Sonnenberg
- “Life is about doing things that matter first, not last” – Richie Norton
- “You must value learning above everything else.” – Robert Greene
- “Some things are very important and some are very unimportant. To know the difference is what we are given life to find out.” – Anna F. Trevisan
- “The question is not whether one can do it better; the question is whether one will do it at all?” – Abhaidev
- “Time management is an oxymoron. Time is beyond our control, and the clock keeps ticking regardless of how we lead our lives. Priority management is the answer to maximizing the time we have.” – John C. Maxwell
- “I believe one of the most important priorities is to do whatever we do as well as we can. We should take pride in that.”– Victor Kiam
- “Beware the tyranny of the telephone! From time to time an urgent call brings you a request for which you have no budgeted hours.” – Charles E. Hummel
- “Many of us spend more time on the C’s of life than on the A’s of life. Don’t allow trivial things to crowd out the important ones.” – Douglas Merrill
- “The Principle of Priority states (a) you must know the difference between what is urgent and what is important, and (b) you must do what’s important first.” – Steven Pressfield
Final Thoughts on Priority Quotes
That brings us to the end of our priority quotes compilation. We hope these have given you some inspiration to either affirm or perhaps consider changing your priorities if you’re life isn’t going how you want it to.
No matter what situation you’re in, there’s always something you can do to change it. To help you achieve your most meaningful objectives, check out 9 affirmation decks to reinforce what’s important.
And if you want more inspirational quotes, be sure to check out these blog posts:
- 57 New Day Quotes to Start Your Morning the Right Way
- 67 You Got This Quotes to Give You a Motivational Boost
- 51 Quotes About How Life is a Journey
Finally, if you want to use these quotes to make a lasting change to your life, then check out and recite these 57 affirmations for success.
Tom Smith is a creative writer with over 6 years of professional experience. He discovered the joy of writing after covering some furniture in his childhood home with graffiti. In later years, he got himself a BA in creative writing and hasn’t looked back. After discovering the power of positive thinking and discovering the spiritual side of life, he believes it's a huge privilege to be able to write about all things personal development.
