A Quote by Evangeline Lilly

Saying 'no' is not hard for me; it's scarier for me to say 'yes.' I'm actually more afraid of commitment than of saying 'no.' — © Evangeline Lilly
Saying 'no' is not hard for me; it's scarier for me to say 'yes.' I'm actually more afraid of commitment than of saying 'no.'
It's always scarier saying 'No.' As an actress, I can say 'Yes' to more. But sometimes, as a stunt-woman, I have to say 'No.'
Saying no to something is actually much more powerful than saying yes.
Remember, you cannot be both young and wise. Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say no. But saying “yes” begins things. Saying “yes” is how things grow. Saying “yes” leads to knowledge. “Yes” is for young people. So for as long as you have the strength to, say “yes'.
When you're not confident as a young woman in saying "no" or even saying "yes" necessarily, you don't know which one you're more afraid of in some way. That happens a lot.
Saying no isn't easy, but it's a required skill if you wish to have any degree of focus in your life. If you say yes too often, you'll likely fall into the common trap of saying yes to the good while simultaneously saying no to the best.
Well, the great thing for me about poetry is that in good poems the dislocation of words, that is to say, the distance between what they say they're saying and what they are actually saying is at its greatest.
The more I get into this industry the more I kind of see that it'll take as much as you give. So for me, setting boundaries is sometimes saying no, and just being like, 'Actually I don't want to do that' even though people might in my situation say yes.
I love saying 'yes' and I love saying 'please.' Saying 'yes' doesn't mean I don't know how to say no, and saying 'please' doesn't mean I am waiting for permission. 'Yes please' sounds powerful and concise. It's a response and a request. It is not about being a good girl; it is about being a real woman.
Ulysses pissed me off. When Molly Bloom just says, "Yes I said yes I will Yes." And I'm thinking, You should be saying no, Molly. How about no? Saying no is great.
One of the most effective means for transcending ordinary and moving into the realm of extraordinary is saying yes more frequently and eliminating no almost completely. I call it saying yes to life. Say yes to yourself, to your family, your children, your coworkers, and your business.
I'm a great believer that saying yes is a lot more fun than saying no.
You can never get more by saying "No." You can hold a current position by saying "No", but you can only move forward by saying "Yes."
If I'm afraid of someone on the street, I'll turn to him (it's always a boy) and say, "Excuse me, do you happen to know what time it is?" This is my way of saying to the person, "I see you as a friend, and there is no need to hurt me or take my stuff. Also, I don't even have a watch and I am probably not worth mugging." So far, it's worked like gangbusters... And I've discovered that most people I'm afraid of are actually very friendly.
In marriage for example, you say 'Yes' on the day you get married, 'I do', but each day you implicitly if not explicitly, also say 'Yes', by every act that one performs in a marriage, one is saying 'Yes', making a cup of coffee for one's wife or husband is a form of saying 'Yes' to the marriage vow that one is continuing the marriage by affirming it in one's deeds. And exactly the same in the religious life.
The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.
College gave me validation: I gained a lot of confidence, just from once or twice saying something in class and the professor saying, 'Great idea.' That experience has certainly helped me say to a director, 'Actually, I think my idea is at least worth talking about.'
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