How to Handle Rejection
Just because everybody gets rejected at some point or another doesn’t mean it’s not going to be difficult. Let’s be real, facing rejection sucks. Jobs, relationships, schools – it’s never easy. But rejection is not only an inevitable part of life, it helps us grow and become who we really want to be. Next time you’re faced with rejection, make sure you know how to handle it so that you can grow and move on in a healthy way.
There’s no single method to use to handle rejection, especially since there are so many experiences that come along with each instance. But one thing is for sure – you need to give yourself time. But not just any time – time to turn inward. Allowing yourself to process the difficult emotions that come with rejection – sadness, shame, disappointment, anger, etc. – is the healthiest way to get through it. Otherwise, you’ll continue to let the rejection hang over you and it’ll start to affect other parts of your life. It may even make it hard to put yourself out there again, if the fear of future rejection is strong.
After processing, it’s time to pick yourself up again. Whether it’s something you’ve been rejected from that you can give another try when you’re ready to – like a team or a class, or something that you need to instead distance yourself from, like feelings toward another person not being reciprocated, you need to realize that the experience is over. Realize that this isn’t the first nor the last time you’ll face rejection in some way, and that life goes on. That’s a good thing – this will soon be behind you. It’s hard to do this when you had someone counting on you, like a parent expecting you to get accepted to a program, for example. But anyone involved will have to come to terms with it too, so it’s best to just focus on yourself. Try to think of what you can learn about yourself from this. I don’t mean think about what you did wrong – because often it’s out of your control – but what life lessons you can learn. Some of us are more used to rejection than others, depending on our jobs, our personalities and our experiences. This is a good time to find out how you react to certain things and how you can be more prepared to deal with these scenarios in the future.
Once you’ve come to terms with this experience and gained insight from it, it’s time for the final step – getting back out there! I don’t necessarily mean going for the same thing again (except in some cases) but just becoming your normal self again, not weighed down by negative vibes. Feeling rejected, whether or not we were technically denied any one thing in reality, is awful. Same with fearing rejection – it’s neither empowering nor helpful for our self-esteem. But I hope that if you take the time to get over the experience in a positive manner like I suggested in this post, you’ll have an easier time moving on and realizing your potential. This one experience doesn’t define you – but what it does say is that YOU put yourself out there and gave something a try… Not everyone can say that!
Please share how you’ve gotten over rejection in the past – there are people out there that want to hear your story!
<3 Mish
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