--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It seems obvious that there comes period…" description: "\"It seems obvious that there comes period in your life when you have to learn to say no to things you don't want to do. But the biggest trickiest lesson..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/elizabeth-gilbert-131_creativity_it-seems-obvious-that-there-comes-period_2429718.jpg" --- # It seems obvious that there comes period in your life when… ![“It seems obvious that there comes period in your life when you have to learn to say no to things you don't want to do. But the biggest trickiest lesson in holding on the stalwart committment to your creativity is learning how to say no to the things you do want to do.” quote by Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/elizabeth-gilbert-131_creativity_it-seems-obvious-that-there-comes-period_2429718.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/elizabeth-gilbert-131_creativity_it-seems-obvious-that-there-comes-period_2429718.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/elizabeth-gilbert-131_creativity_it-seems-obvious-that-there-comes-period_2429718.jpg) > “It seems obvious that there comes period in your life when you have to learn to say no to things you don't want to do. But the biggest trickiest lesson in holding on the stalwart committment to your creativity is learning how to say no to the things you do want to do.” [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing creative commitment requires saying no both to unwanted tasks and to appealing projects that distract from core goals. **In simple terms:** Learn to decline both unimportant and tempting work to protect creativity. Key Takeaway Prioritize core creative work. Themes creativity boundaries focus Mood reflective motivational Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - artist schedule - project selection - personal growth Key Concepts Opportunity cost self‑discipline Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide which appealing projects to decline? - What boundaries protect your creative flow? A Different Perspective Saying no can limit collaboration opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Diplomat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diplomat/) [Learn to say no](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-to-say-no/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Stalwart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stalwart/) ## Related quotes > [When failure is not an option, we can forget about creativity, learning, and innovation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/when-failure-is-not-an-option-we-can-forget-about-creativity-learning/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [“Some selfish people rise because some kind people haven't learned the art of saying no to them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanhita-baruah/some-selfish-people-rise-because-some-kind-people-haven-t-learned-the/) [Sanhita Baruah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanhita-baruah/) > [Be more concerned with being interested than being interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-french/be-more-concerned-with-being-interested-than-being-interesting/) [Chris French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-french/) > [You have to learn to say no not just to things you don't want to do, you have to say no to things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debora-spar/you-have-to-learn-to-say-no-not-just-to-things-you-don-t-want-to-do/) [Debora Spar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debora-spar/) > [“Real freedom is saying 'no' without giving a reason.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/real-freedom-is-saying-no-without-giving-a-reason/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Learn to say no, so your yes has some oomph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-armstrong/learn-to-say-no-so-your-yes-has-some-oomph/) [Kristin Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-armstrong/) > [One key to successful relationships is learning to say "no" without guilt, so that you can say "yes" without resentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-crawford/one-key-to-successful-relationships-is-learning-to-say-no-without/) [Bill Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-crawford/) > [Learn to say no; it will be of more use to you than to be able to read Latin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/learn-to-say-no-it-will-be-of-more-use-to-you-than-to-be-able-to-read/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Learn to say No—and to be rude about it when necessary. Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/learn-to-say-no-and-to-be-rude-about-it-when-necessary-otherwise-you/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Learn to say no in situations where saying no can be difficult, where it could mean getting fired. Say no anyway, because it could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-dash/learn-to-say-no-in-situations-where-saying-no-can-be-difficult-where/) [Samuel Dash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-dash/) > [Learn to say no, with an eye to saying yes to something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mireille-guiliano/learn-to-say-no-with-an-eye-to-saying-yes-to-something-else/) [Mireille Guiliano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mireille-guiliano/) > [Don't say maybe if you want to say no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/don-t-say-maybe-if-you-want-to-say-no/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Don't take on things you don't believe in and that you yourself are not good at. Learn to say no. Effective leaders match the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/don-t-take-on-things-you-don-t-believe-in-and-that-you-yourself-are/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Freedom comes when you learn to let go, creation comes when you learn to say 'no'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/freedom-comes-when-you-learn-to-let-go-creation-comes-when-you-learn/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One thing my mother always instilled in me is to always know my worth. Don't settle for less. She used to say to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iman-abdulmajid/one-thing-my-mother-always-instilled-in-me-is-to-always-know-my-worth/) [Iman Abdulmajid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iman-abdulmajid/) ## More by Elizabeth Gilbert > [That's your friend. My husband is my best friend. He's not the mirror that holds up my flaws. He's just the guy who's like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/that-s-your-friend-my-husband-is-my-best-friend-he-s-not-the-mirror/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Not to mention that I have finally arrived at that age where a woman starts to question whether the wisest way to get over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/not-to-mention-that-i-have-finally-arrived-at-that-age-where-a-woman/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“The Buddha taught that all human suffering is rooted in desire. Don't we all know this to be true? Any of us who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-buddha-taught-that-all-human-suffering-is-rooted-in-desire-don-t/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [ “And while \[we\] do have possibilities that are vast and magnificent and almost infinite in scope, it's important to remember that our choice-rich lives… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/and-while-we-do-have-possibilities-that-are-vast-and-magnificent-and/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/learn-your-way-around-loneliness-make-a-map-of-it-sit-with-it-for/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [If we never leave our house except to drive to work, do we need to be even remotely aware of this powerful, humbling, extraordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/if-we-never-leave-our-house-except-to-drive-to-work-do-we-need-to-be/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I will tell you why we have these extraordinary minds and souls, Miss Whittaker," he continued, as though he had not heard her. "We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-will-tell-you-why-we-have-these-extraordinary-minds-and-souls-miss/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Both the five-year-olds looked at me with bewilderment and a bit of fearful uncertainty. I had a sudden horrifying image of the woman I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/both-the-five-year-olds-looked-at-me-with-bewilderment-and-a-bit-of/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/clearing-out-all-your-misery-gets-you-out-of-the-way-you-cease-being/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [The ingredients of both darkness and light are equally present in all of us,...The madness of this planet is largely a result of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-ingredients-of-both-darkness-and-light-are-equally-present-in-all/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I was full of a hot, powerful sadness and would have loved to burst into the comfort of tears, but tried hard not to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-was-full-of-a-hot-powerful-sadness-and-would-have-loved-to-burst/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“I live in nature where everything is connected, circular. The seasons are circular. The planet is circular, and so is the planet around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-live-in-nature-where-everything-is-connected-circular-the-seasons/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“His spelling was several degrees beyond arbitrary, and his punctuation brought reason to sigh with unhappiness. But”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/his-spelling-was-several-degrees-beyond-arbitrary-and-his-punctuation/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Before you realize this truth, say the Yogis, you will always be in despair, a notion nicely expressed in this exasperated line from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/before-you-realize-this-truth-say-the-yogis-you-will-always-be-in/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I actually have a great deal of respect for antidepressants; I think they can be enormously mighty tools toward recovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-actually-have-a-great-deal-of-respect-for-antidepressants-i-think/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) [Explore all 1,156 Elizabeth Gilbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) Andrei Amalrik > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) Christoph Niemann > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It seems obvious that there comes period in your life when you have to learn to say no to things you don't want to do. But the biggest trickiest lesson in holding on the stalwart committment to your creativity is learning how to say no to the things you do want to do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Gilbert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/it-seems-obvious-that-there-comes-period-in-your-life-when-you-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creativity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/it-seems-obvious-that-there-comes-period-in-your-life-when-you-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/elizabeth-gilbert-131_creativity_it-seems-obvious-that-there-comes-period_2429718.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/elizabeth-gilbert-131_creativity_it-seems-obvious-that-there-comes-period_2429718.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c08/elizabeth-gilbert-131_creativity_it-seems-obvious-that-there-comes-period_2429718.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It seems obvious that there comes period in your life when you have to learn to say no to things you don't…” — Elizabeth Gilbert", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Elizabeth Gilbert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It seems obvious that there comes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/it-seems-obvious-that-there-comes-period-in-your-life-when-you-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/it-seems-obvious-that-there-comes-period-in-your-life-when-you-have/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```