Fear of rejection can keep you from reaching your goals and dreams. It can creep into your creativity. You could have done something great, or something that could have changed your destiny. But because you don’t know how to handle your fear, you’re forced to live a mediocre life.
The good news is you don’t have to.
What if you got better at handling rejection? Wouldn’t it be great if you knew how?
By knowing how to handle rejection, you could accomplish things you’ve always dreamed about. It isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible! Rejection is a necessity in life. It is something we should not try to avoid. Instead of fearing or avoiding it, it’s better to learn how to handle it so it won’t stop you from living your life.
1. Find out if the rejection is legit.
It might be that the person who rejected your idea didn’t exactly understand what you have to offer. Find out first where the rejection came from. If it came from a valid source, carefully study the rejection and see how you can improve.
If the rejection came from someone who isn’t credible, it might be better to shrug it off and move on. It’s important to ask for feedback from others, but you should also known when to outsource credible feedback.
2. Don’t ignore the rejection.
Every rejection is holds room for improvement. Think about the things you can learn about this experience and how you can do better. It might help at first to ignore the rejection for awhile. That’s totally fine. But take extra care to ponder about the rejection and learn from it. Dismissing a rejection is dismissing an opportunity to learn.
3. Don’t dwell on it too much.
While it is true that you shouldn’t ignore rejection, you also don’t need to dwell on it too much. Everybody gets rejected in their lifetime. It is a part of life. Rejection simply means something better can happen. Better things couldn’t come your way, if you refuse to be rejected all the time.
Dwelling to much on rejection steals opportunities that you might have overlooked because you refused to let go. After you’ve learned from the experience, move on from it and try again. This time you can do better because you’re already armed with knowledge and experience.
4. Start asking questions.
By asking questions, you can look at your situation from a better perspective. Rejection can be painful. Asking the right questions will not only lead you to learn new things to improve, but will also give you a sense of meaning. Ask questions like: How will I turn this rejection into an opportunity? What could have I done better? What could I have done wrong that I could do better next time around?
By answering these questions, you get to know more about yourself and your situation. You’ll know what the necessary steps you need to take.
5. Ask yourself what you can learn
Rejection is a part of the learning process. If we dismiss this idea, we dismiss a ton of learning experiences that are available at hand.
6. Rejection isn’t always about you
Don’t take rejection personally. If someone tells you, “your idea isn’t the right fit for us,” they are rejecting the idea, not you. Take a careful look at the statement. Your idea might not be the right idea for them, but it could be the brightest idea to someone else.
Even if somebody rejects you personally, remember that there is a better place or person waiting for you. Instead of focusing on thinking about yourself as a loser, consider it a favor that you’ve lost a pebble, to make way for you to find some diamonds.
7. It’s okay to feel the pain of rejection.
Rejection is painful. It’s human nature to feel pain. Don’t ignore the feeling by denying that you’re not hurt. Instead, acknowledge the pain, learn from it, and then move on.
Rejection is a part of our lives. It’s necessary for us to thrive. Handling rejections can be tough, but every successful person has encountered quite a number of them. If you learn to accept and deal with the “No”, you’ll discover a mountain of “Yes” and opportunities.
Featured photo credit: Sweet Sorrow/Caro Wallis via flickr.com
