Saying “I’m good” to a dare while everyone chants your name takes more spine than doing the stunt.

A chanting group makes refusal feel like the harder physical act, because everything in the moment is arranged to make going along easier. Declining in front of people who want you to say yes takes the kind of nerve that nobody films. The stunt costs you a minute of attention; the no can cost you the room, and it is still the stronger move.

Decide in advance what you will not do, because the deciding is much harder inside the moment. Have two flat words ready and do not explain them. You will not enjoy the ten seconds afterwards, and you will be glad about it later.