--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's saying no. That's your first hint…" description: "\"It's saying no. That's your first hint that something's alive. It says no. That's how you know a baby is starting to turn into a person. They run aroun..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/catherynne-m-valente-375_alive_it-s-saying-no-that-s-your-first-hint-th_774489.png" --- # It's saying no. That's your first hint that something's… ![“It's saying no. That's your first hint that something's alive. It says no. That's how you know a baby is starting to turn into a person. They run around saying no all day, throwing their aliveness at everything to see what it'll stick to. You can't say no if you don't have desires and opinions and…” quote by Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/catherynne-m-valente-375_alive_it-s-saying-no-that-s-your-first-hint-th_774489.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/catherynne-m-valente-375_alive_it-s-saying-no-that-s-your-first-hint-th_774489.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/catherynne-m-valente-375_alive_it-s-saying-no-that-s-your-first-hint-th_774489.png) > “It's saying no. That's your first hint that something's alive. It says no. That's how you know a baby is starting to turn into a person. They run around saying no all day, throwing their aliveness at everything to see what it'll stick to. You can't say no if you don't have desires and opinions and wants of your own. You wouldn't even want to. No is the heart of thinking.” [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights that the word “no” signals emerging agency, desire, and independent thought, marking the transition from passive existence to active personhood. **In simple terms:** Saying no shows you have wants and thoughts. Key Takeaway Embrace your “no” as a sign of growing self‑hood. Themes identity agency development communication Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - parenting - personal growth - creative projects - conflict resolution Key Concepts self‑awareness assertiveness psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does your “no” reveal about your values? - How can you balance saying no with empathy? A Different Perspective If you suppress “no,” you may lose authentic self‑expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Alive Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive-says-4616566/) [Baby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baby/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desires Opinions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desires-opinions-5979466/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Hints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hints/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Saying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saying/) [Saying Hint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saying-hint-5979467/) [Saying no](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saying-no/) [Starting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starting/) [Sticks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sticks/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Throwing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/throwing/) [Throwing Aliveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/throwing-aliveness-5979468/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [“That's your first hint that something's alive. It says no.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/that-s-your-first-hint-that-something-s-alive-it-says-no/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Stop saying you are weak. You're still alive. That says a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-hope/stop-saying-you-are-weak-you-re-still-alive-that-says-a-lot/) [Amber Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-hope/) > [“That's the problem with being alive," she says, staring at the floor. "You've got to keep thinking of what to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/that-s-the-problem-with-being-alive-she-says-staring-at-the-floor-you/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [I am alive, he says to himself, I am alive! And life energy surges hotly through him, and delight, and appetite. How good to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/i-am-alive-he-says-to-himself-i-am-alive-and-life-energy-surges-hotly/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [Here! 'Not thread nor glue, not nails nor screws, will ever self and shadow wed.' Helpful, those poet-types. Perhaps this one: 'Seek the grimy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/here-not-thread-nor-glue-not-nails-nor-screws-will-ever-self-and/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Saying no to something is actually much more powerful than saying yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/saying-no-to-something-is-actually-much-more-powerful-than-saying-yes/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [If we tackle corruption, no child would sleep hungry, there would be no injustice, every child would be in school. The most powerful force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/strive-masiyiwa/if-we-tackle-corruption-no-child-would-sleep-hungry-there-would-be-no/) [Strive Masiyiwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/strive-masiyiwa/) > [I need to learn how to start saying no. Like when someone says ‘please stop choking me.’](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-need-to-learn-how-to-start-saying-no-like-when-someone-says-please/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [The Republicans underestimated and underestimated and underestimated Donald Trump. And look where that got them. They kept saying, no, no, no, that's not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/the-republicans-underestimated-and-underestimated-and-underestimated/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [I think part of the reason the Tea Party has resonated is that people feel disempowered. The Tea Party says, "You are out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zephyr-teachout/i-think-part-of-the-reason-the-tea-party-has-resonated-is-that-people/) [Zephyr Teachout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zephyr-teachout/) > [I have been accused of never saying no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shatner/i-have-been-accused-of-never-saying-no/) [William Shatner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shatner/) > [Americans are gathering the courage to just say no. We are saying no to addictive consumer lifestyles. We are saying no to wars and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-mckinney/americans-are-gathering-the-courage-to-just-say-no-we-are-saying-no/) [Cynthia McKinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-mckinney/) > [Resisting a beautiful chocolate cake or a wonderful foie gras is as difficult as (the idea of) saying no to Paul Newman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/resisting-a-beautiful-chocolate-cake-or-a-wonderful-foie-gras-is-as/) [Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/) > [I know people are saying they like you. I'm not being insulted or pushed around or anything. People are coming up because they like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-freeman/i-know-people-are-saying-they-like-you-i-m-not-being-insulted-or/) [Morgan Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-freeman/) > [I'm a great believer in life to saying yes and not saying no, and hopefully making people smile and just having fun in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-m-a-great-believer-in-life-to-saying-yes-and-not-saying-no-and/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) ## More by Catherynne M. Valente > [When I saw him I thought I could curl up inside him and go to sleep and never wake up." "Men are no good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-saw-him-i-thought-i-could-curl-up-inside-him-and-go-to-sleep/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [We all just keep moving, September. We keep moving until we stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-just-keep-moving-september-we-keep-moving-until-we-stop/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“You couldn't ever really fix a sad story. You could only make another. And another. And another, until you found the right one at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-couldn-t-ever-really-fix-a-sad-story-you-could-only-make-another/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“He considers it for a moment and spits out the seeds, which sprout, quickly, into tiny junkblossoms sizzling with recursive algorithms. The algorithms wriggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/he-considers-it-for-a-moment-and-spits-out-the-seeds-which-sprout/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“Truly, Mallow yearned to know everything. Curiosity was part of her, like her short blond hair and bitten fingernails.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/truly-mallow-yearned-to-know-everything-curiosity-was-part-of-her/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“The cicada lies in the earth for seventeen years. It is warm and dark there, it is soft and wet. Its little legs curl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/the-cicada-lies-in-the-earth-for-seventeen-years-it-is-warm-and-dark/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [We all live inside the terrible engine of authority, and it grinds and shrieks and burns so that no one will say: lines on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-live-inside-the-terrible-engine-of-authority-and-it-grinds-and/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Her heart was bruised by the kiss, smashed and surprised and unsettled by it. September thought kisses were all nice, sweet things asked for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/her-heart-was-bruised-by-the-kiss-smashed-and-surprised-and-unsettled/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“September put her hand on the grip of the Rivet Gun. She’d only just gotten it, and she’d promised to take copious notes for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/september-put-her-hand-on-the-grip-of-the-rivet-gun-she-d-only-just/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Just tell yourself a story that'll satisfy you and pretend he told it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/just-tell-yourself-a-story-that-ll-satisfy-you-and-pretend-he-told-it/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“You see, the future is a kind of stew, a soup, a vichyssoise of the present and the past. That's how you get the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-see-the-future-is-a-kind-of-stew-a-soup-a-vichyssoise-of-the/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Fairy tales have always been about getting through the worst of everything, the darkest and the deepest and the bloodiest of events. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/fairy-tales-have-always-been-about-getting-through-the-worst-of/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“There is a place, September, oh, very far from Pandemonium. A place where it is always autumn, where there is always cider and pumpkin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/there-is-a-place-september-oh-very-far-from-pandemonium-a-place-where/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“I was happy, the sun was high. I had enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/i-was-happy-the-sun-was-high-i-had-enough/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Who are you?" "I am Death," said the creature. "I thought that was obvious." "But you're so small!" "Only because you are small. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/who-are-you-i-am-death-said-the-creature-i-thought-that-was-obvious/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) [Explore all 621 Catherynne M. Valente quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. 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We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. 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