The beauty of rejections

We should all be rejected.

Yes, whether it’s at playtime, in love, over a promotion or project, we should all be rejected. Granted, rejection can be a source of tremendous hurt, an experience of intense pain; it can result in feelings of being tossed aside, abandoned-it sounds like a situation we should do our best to avoid!{{more}} However, being rejected is also one of the ingredients to a successful career and a balanced life. Everyone should go through the process of being rejected at some point.

Too many young people try to just fit in, to avoid being shunned-to detour around the threat of rejection. As they grow up, many of them continue with the safe road, going along with the crowd instead of trying to be something different or standing up for what they believe in-still to avoid rejection. By the time they get to the workplace and meet an employer that is looking for originality, they have lost their ability to think and act independently.

Some of the best ideas, books and performers were turned down at one point or another. The first of the world famous Chicken Soup book series was turned down by more than one hundred publishers before it was picked up. Now it is a lucrative series grossing millions of dollars worldwide.

A rejection may be exactly what you need to refine your skills, ideas and professional associations. It might be just what you need to make you realize your own personal and professional worth. To turn a rejection into a learning experience, remember these three basic points.

Don’t take it personally. A young boy opened a small business to sell candy and soft drinks in his neighborhood. When he approached a few potential customers, they refused to buy. Now the young boy had two choices: to feel bad or to move on. Because he was only eight years old, he just said, “Oh well,” and moved on to the next potential customer. How many of you have that kind of attitude? Sometimes a rejection has nothing to do with you personally. It could more likely be bad timing, a budget problem, the wrong people or any number of other possible reasons.

Become more focused. Rejection should cause you to pause and rethink your idea, then take a closer look at what you are doing. Don’t take it as a call to beat up on yourself, to get anxious or to cry. Instead, look at it as a time for you to examine what you are doing and ensure that you are still on the right track. You have to learn to weigh the experience from an objective place. What value can you see in the rejection? Is it a call to push farther toward excellence? Is it a malicious attack? Or is it a red flag that you need to rid yourself of certain people or processes that are pulling you down? Whatever it is, get focused because you could be in for a fight.

Get mentally tough. People with great ideas and skills fail because they are not mentally prepared to fight for what they believe in when the going gets rough and rejection after rejection is flying in their faces. Grow up, get tough and get back in the game.

If you’re lucky, you will get rejected dozens of times, but if you turn each one into a learning experience, the next one will not be quite as devastating. So what if you get embarrassed a few times? Embarrassment never killed anyone. But, a dream not fulfilled because you were too scared over being rejected- that could cause you to die of heartache.

Karen Hinds President/CEO – Workplace Success Group,
Toll Free: 1-877-902-2775; Tel: 1-203-757-4103
Karen@WorkplaceSuccess.com
www.WorkplaceSuccess.com
Creator of The Workplace Success Program (TM)