Yes and No

This is a quote from someone who knows a lot more about this stuff than I do.  Yet for me what is said rings true. “The strategy required to find a great opportunity (lots of saying yes and exploring widely) is different from the strategy required to make the most of a great opportunity (lots of saying no and remaining focused)."
I find it really easy to say yes and then regret it.  What I am saying yes to is often built on the needs of another rather than what I feel I am supposed to be perusing.  I will always assist another for a one off or to help tide over, but sometimes yes is a long-term commitment.
I have known times when I saw the implications of a yes and realized it was long term and greater than I originally thought.  That is one of the reasons why I for many tasks prefer to see a job description, so I know what I am committing to.  It seems at times I say yes to things and I am really unaware of what I am committing to.  I may have a general idea and be happy to help out in the short term but the “fine print” of it shows I have really signed up for something that is not where I was going.  The yes limits my scope for the future I am going after.
I often ask people if they are willing to do something.  I must admit I do admire those who say no.  Naturally I am disappointed as there was a reason for me asking in the first place.  Yet I know saying no is harder than saying yes.  Yes is sometimes the response for a number of reasons.  The person may think they need to say yes to remain friends.  Or they may think something is a great idea without knowing that all great ideas do not mean it is a great idea for me to be involved in.  Or they may want to just get me off their back.
I need to take people at face value.  I don’t necessarily know the motivations.  I am relieved with a yes, and sometimes only find out later it should have been a no.
Uncertainty about such things does not deter me from pursuing a worthwhile goal.  There are those of us that are right for a particular task.  Building a team is a process.