Do you ever feel like you’re on the hamster wheel of unimportant tasks? The endless drone of projects, meetings, and phone calls drains your energy and saps meaning from your life. You’ve got to set boundaries and prioritize what’s important, and a few quotes on priorities will help.
I still remember the first time I read Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People as a teenager. I understood how important it was to put first things first which is habit 3 in his book and quickly began organizing my life and daily actions by priorities.
That simple lesson I discovered 15 years ago completely changed the course of my life. I soon created a personal mission statement, set goals and priorities for myself, and began an amazing path of personal growth.
The journey has taken me halfway across the world twice; helped me meet, marry, and start a family with my best friend; allowed me to double my income and change my career; inspired me to run a marathon; and much more.
All of this same success, improvement, and fulfillment will be yours when you learn and begin practicing the principles of setting priorities. But you’ll need some more inspiration than just what I have to say about it to get started.
So let’s dive right in and let these experts teach us why prioritizing your life is important, how to do it, and what to focus on above everything else!
Quotes on Why You Should Set Priorities
- “If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one.”
– Russian Proverb
- “Want to be successful? Change your priorities!”
– Himmilicious
- “Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.”
– Stephen R. Covey
- “If it’s a priority you’ll find a way. If it isn’t, you’ll find an excuse.”
– Jim Rohn
- “The life you have left is a gift. Cherish it. Enjoy it now, to the fullest. Do what matters, now.”
– Leo Babauta
- “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 you have too many top priorities, you effectively have no top priorities.”
– Stephen Covey
Quotes on How to Set Priorities
- “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- “Instead of saying “I don’t have time” try saying “it’s not a priority,” and see how that feels.”
– Laura Vanderkam
- “Your decisions reveal your priorities.”
– Jeff Van Gundy
- “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
- “Schedule your priorities.”
– Stephen Covey
- “Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions.”
– Dallin H. Oaks
- “Action expresses priorities.”
– Mahatma Gandhi
Ideas on What to Prioritize
- “It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.”
– Bruce Lee
- “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
- “Perpetual devotion to what a man calls his business, is only to be sustained by perpetual neglect of many other things.”
– Robert Louis Stevenson
- “You need to make time for your family no matter what happens in your life”
– Matthew Quick
- “Physics isn’t the most important thing. Love is.”
Here’s What You Should Do Next After Reading These Quotes on Priorities
I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll say it again because it’s so important. If you truly want to experience the life-changing influence of these amazing people, just keep studying their words.
Pick just one or two that really inspired you and study more of that person’s work.
For me, it happened while I was reading Stephen Covey’s books when I was just 15-years-old. Doing this all those years ago completely changed my life.
Which one of these authors and leaders is your favorite and what amazing experiences and personal growth await you if you’ll continue learning from them?
