In a world where companies get as many resumes as my grandma gets junk mail and AARP magazines, we have to get over constant rejection. I have had some buddies that have tried to do many things and quit. Rejection is powerful and can shatter a life forever.
Here are my thoughts on how to get over constant rejection in a hurry:
- Feel the rejection
Experience your emotions. You have to. The quicker you can the better off you will be. Burying the pain only prolongs its impact. Strength comes from approaching it head on and trusting that you can bounce back no matter the initial hit you many take.
- See a temporary dead end as growth
As weird as this may sound, being rejected is a sign of growth. Look at it this way, if you are not putting yourself in a place to be turned down, you may not be setting yourself up to have a growth spurt. You are not pushing the boundaries for what is possible, or what you think is possible for yourself. As the song from Scarface goes, “Push it to the limit.”
- Rejection is rejection, it is not you
I believe rejection comes from the latin word reicere that means to throw back. Rejection can also be defined as the act of refusing to accept. Whether your mysterious rejector is throwing your proposal right back in your face or can not acknowledge your skills as the best qualified for the job, it is still something that the rejector does. This has no impact on what you are trying to bring to fruition. So do not let it define or become your identity when it is actually the identity of the rejector that is in question.
If any of this helped, leave me a comment below. Also, let me know what you are interested in hearing more about or even about times when you had to face rejection. How did you handle the initial let down?
I am not good with rejection. I applied to a few jobs and didn’t get them. I wasn’t crazy upset, but I haven’t really applied for any more. It may be because I don’t actually want to do the job…
That may be a sign my friend. If you were able to shrug it off maybe you were attracted to something else about the position. It’s great that you discovered that before you ended up in the job. Your energy can be spent pursuing something that excites you.