How to Deal with Rejection
Rejection is a part of life; like it or not. We all face it, no matter how good we are at our job. This world is filled with a variety of people who have different views about things.
It is not possible for anyone to please everyone and hence, rejection is natural. Personally, I never hated rejection as I always took them as a step to move further and to grow up. Though as a kid, I used to get disappointed for just a fraction of time (a few minutes actually !!).
Then my father, my biggest source of inspiration and motivation, always turned my tears into sparkles of my next win. I want to tell people that you cannot disown rejection and yes it can be disappointing, but you can handle it more gracefully—like a pro.
I know rejection is not easy to face, but here are a few tips to deal with rejection like a pro.
Avoid taking rejection personally
When you face rejection, you will naturally be disappointed. But let me assure you, do not take this disappointment too far. Do not make it part of your thought process and hence, your personality. Why does rejection happen? Just think about it.
Rejection is due to a mismatching of the thoughts of two or more people. So don’t indulge in self-doubt whenever someone rejects your requests.
Sometimes the timing or the mood may not be right. For instance, when you go to an interview and the prospective employer says no; think about why.
It’s usually because the position and your qualifications did not match! So, why take it personally? Get ready for the next interview.
Prepare yourself for rejection
When you go for a new venture, be ready for every situation; success or failure; acceptance and rejection. It helps you in two ways. First, if you are expecting rejection, you will definitely work harder to achieve success and second, if you are already ready to hear a “No”, you will be able to handle that situation (and deal with rejection) in a mature way.
Have Positive Attitude, come what may
Though it is difficult to maintain a positive attitude at times, you have to acquire it by practice. Try to be calm and neutral to any situation coming your way. Make it a habit to look for something positive in every situation even if it is rejection or failure. You should try to look for the opportunity that may be hidden in that event of rejection.
Take as an example a famous film star. In his initial days he came to the industry to become a junior artist, but instead became a big director. How? He was rejected for that position of junior artist and took the job as a spot boy and gradually rose to a high position and got recognized as a director eventually.
Thus, never lose faith in yourself or your capabilities. This life has bestowed us with unlimited opportunities; the responsibility to identify them is ours.
Learning from rejection
Any sort of rejection has some reason at its base, ranging from the mismatch of ideas, needs, incompatible values to even a lack of understanding. Once you understand the reason behind a rejection, you will be able to deal with it in a mature way.
Moreover, you can learn from that rejection for any future opportunities. For instance, you are trying for a project but get rejected due to a bad presentation. It is better to accept your mistakes or lousy work and start working again for the next presentation with double the confidence and with lessons learned from the botched presentation.
Rejection is part of growth
Take your rejection as a part of self growth. Do not take it as regression in your life; instead take it as progression. It’s like when an infant starts walking, he or she falls a few times and cries but never stops walking and one day he /she succeeds in not only walking but also running.
If a child does not fall because its mom is always holding its hand, how would the child learn to stand up on its own when he/she falls? It’s his/her failure to walk that teach him/her to walk.
Conclusion
So cheer up! And get ready for the next event with a neutral attitude. Learn to deal with rejection. In fact, rejection is not the end of the world; it is just a hurdle to be cleared to make you winner at the end. Right!
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