70 Setting Priority Quotes to Help with Goal Setting

These setting priority quotes will help you reach your goals by identifying what the most important things are to you.

It’s easy to struggle with setting priorities.

There are a lot of things that you want to accomplish and a lot of things that you think other people want you to accomplish.

But before you start making a list of goals that you want to reach, you have to identify what your priorities are. 

What’s important to you?  

When your goals align with your priorities, you are a lot more likely to achieve them because they are things that are important to you.

These setting priority quotes will help you understand why it’s such an important step and what you should consider as you think about them. 

Also check out these powerful actions speak louder than words quotes that will empower you.

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration. 

Check out our entire collection of motivational quotes here.

Priority quotes about finding the important things in life

1. Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

You will also enjoy our article on lighthouse quotes.

2. “Life is short. Focus on what really matters most; you should change your priorities over time.” – Roy T. Bennett

3. “Set aside time to plan how you will spend your time. Think about what’s most important. Then do those things first.” – Frank Bettger

4. “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” – Albert Einstein

5. “Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.” ― Stephen R. Covey

6. “Make your own recovery the first priority in your life.” – Robin Norwood

7. “The first step to success is knowing your priorities.” – Aspesh

8. “Our greatest danger in life is in permitting the urgent things to crowd out the important.” – Charles E. Hummel

9. “The most important thing in life is knowing the most important things in life.” – David F. Jakielo

10. “Whatever is at the center of our life will be the source of our security, guidance, wisdom, and power.” – Stephen Covey

11. “The necessary has never been man’s top priority. The passionate pursuit of the nonessential and the extravagant is one of the chief traits of human uniqueness.” – Eric Hoffer
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of priority quotes that will help you clarify what’s important to you in your life.

Setting priority quotes to help you identify what’s important

12. “The Principe 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

13. “If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one.” – Russian Proverb

14. “It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.” – Bruce Lee

15. “When you’re clear about your purpose and your priorities, you can painlessly discard whatever does not support these, whether it’s clutter in your cabinets or commitments on your calendar.” – Victoria Moran

16. “Learn how to separate the majors and the minors. A lot of people don’t do well simply because they major in minor things.” – Jim Rohn

17. “When you have too many top priorities, you effectively have no top priorities.” – Stephen Covey

18. “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

Don’t forget to also read these intuition quotes that will help you trust your your own instincts.

Setting priority quotes about making time for others

19. “I’m starting to judge success by the time I have for myself, the time I spend with family and friends. My priorities aren’t amending – they’re shifting.” – Brenda Fraser

20. “Wise are those who learn that the bottom line doesn’t always have to be their top priority.” – William Arthur Ward

21. “I feel my family’s needs are a priority. I’m not comfortable with the idea of serving the many and ignoring my family.” – Susan Sarandon

22. “My son is my routine and priority, period!” – Cory Hardrict

23. “Anyone that truly cares about you will never put you last on their list. You would be a priority for life.” – Unknown

24. “You need to make time for your family no matter what happens in life.” – Matthew Quick

Setting priority quotes to help you achieve results

25. “Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions.” – Dallin H. Oaks

26. “Always concentrate on the most valuable use of your time. This is what separates the winners from the losers.” – Brian Tracy

27. “We don’t drift in good directions. We discipline and prioritize ourselves there.” – Andy Stanley

28. “Good things happen when you set your priorities straight.” – Scott Caan

29. “There is no one busy in this world, it’s always about priorities. You will always find time for the things you feel important.” – Nishan Panwar

30. “In a way, I have simplified my life by setting priorities.” – Karen Duffy

31. “To change your life, you need to change your priorities.” – Mark Twain

Priority quotes about how to make them work in your life

32. “Think of priorities not in terms of what activities you do, but when you do them. Timing is everything.” – Dan Millman

33. “Nobody’s life is ever all balanced. It’s a conscious decision to choose your priorities every day.” – Elisabeth Hasselbeck

34. “Schedule your priorities.” – Stephen Covey

35. “What may be done at any time will be done at no time.” – Scottish Proverb

36. “Your decisions reveal your priorities.” – Jeff Van Gundy

37. “Lack of time is actually lack of priorities.” – Timothy Ferris

Setting priority quotes on how priorities can change

38. “Like it or not, the world evolves, priorities change and so do you.” – Marilu Henner

39. “Times of transition are strenuous, but I love them. They are an opportunity to purge, rethink priorities, and be intentional about new habits. We can make our new normal any way we want.” – Kristin Armstrong

40. “What seems so necessary today may not even be desirable tomorrow.” – Martin Luther King

41. “Want to be successful? Change your priorities!” – Himmilicious

Setting priorities quotes about taking the right action

42. “You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage – pleasantly, smilingly, non-apologetically – to say ‘no’ to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside. The enemy of the ‘best’ is often the ‘good’.” – Stephen Covey

43. “Your priorities aren’t what you say they are. They are revealed by how you live.” – Anonymous

44. “A man must be defined by his priorities, not by his desires. His actions define his priorities.” – Anonymous

45. “Instead of saying ‘I don’t have time’ try saying ‘it’s not a priority’ and see how that feels.” – Laura Vanderkam

46. “If it’s a priority you’ll find away. If it isn’t, you’ll find an excuse.” – Jim Rohn

47. “Action expresses priorities.” – Mahatma Gandhi

48. “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

49. “I have this really high priority on happiness and finding something to be happy about.” – Taylor Swift

50. “No one is going to hand you an organizational chart. You have to hand it to yourself.” – Robert Genn

51. “Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.” – H. L. Hunt

More setting priority quotes and sayings

52. “Our life is the sum total of all the decisions we make every day, and those decisions are determined by our priorities.” – Myles Munroe

53. “Create a ladder of values and priorities in your life, reminding yourself of what really matters to you.” – Robert Greene

54. “Sometimes things in life happen that allow us to understand our priorities very clearly. Ultimately you can see those as gifts.” – Mariska Hargitay

55. Living in the light of eternity changes your priorities.” – Rick Warren

56. “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

57. “Focusing on the right priorities can help you do more faster.” – David Cohen

58. To succeed today, you have to set priorities, decide what you stand for.” – Lee Iacocca

59. “Prioritizing hurt, a reminder that the clock was ticking, that some things would be left undone.” – Lisa Genova, Still Alice

60. “Whatever keeps you from reaching your goals today had better be important – it’s costing you a day of your life!” – Nido R. Qubein

Setting Priority Quotes That Will Help You Achieve Your Dreams

61. “Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option.” — Mark Twain

62. “It is vital that in order to Navigate Life, we need to take ownership of our health as the highest priority.” — Tony Fahkry

63. “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

64. “I’ve always been very aware of balance and, even before I had a child, my life always takes priority to my work.” — Charlize Theron

65. “Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters.” — Margaret Peters

66. “We can tell our values by looking at our checkbook stubs.” — Gloria Steinem

67. “Don’t settle for being an option; become a priority.” — Matt Mitchell

68. “Each night before I go to bed, I take out a small card and write a list of the things I need to do the next day in order of their priority.” — Joseph B. Wirthlin

69. “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

70. “Perpetual devotion to what a man calls his business, is only to be sustained by perpetual neglect of many other things.” — Robert Louis Stevenson

What did you learn from these setting priority quotes?  

When it comes to setting priorities, you are the only one that is able to do it for yourself.

There is no one that can help you identify the things that matter the most to you.

But once you have identified your priorities, you can use them to keep you motivated on working towards your goals. 

In order to make it work, not only do you have to discover your priorities, but you have to stay focused on them.

They should be something that you think about on a regular basis and they should help set your plan and the tasks that you focus on.

This is how you reach your goals. 

What did you learn from these setting priority quotes and sayings?

Do you have any other inspirational quotes to add?

Let us know in the comment section below.