Rejection

Rejection! None of us likes it, but all of us have got to learn to accept it. It starts on the playground as a child when the other kids don’t want to play with us or won’t let us have a turn on the swing. Rejection is something we all must learn how to deal with.

In elementary school rejection continues when we don’t get picked for the team or the part in the school play. In middle school it becomes embarrassing when we don’t seem to fit in…anywhere. And in high school the pain of being rejected by the boy we like, or worse, not even being noticed by the boy we like, can be excruciating. Not to mention being cut from a sports team or not getting the solo. Rejection continues on when we don’t get into the college of our choice and our boyfriend breaks up with us. Then, as an adult it continues further with the job we don’t get, the promotion we get passed over for, the party we didn’t get invited to, the “list” we are cut from, and it goes on and on.

And I’d like to add one more…

That one dream you have that seems inches away, and then, instead of victory, you receive ONE MORE REJECTION!

At this point allow me to redefine success:

Success is the ability to handle rejection and then, keep moving forward.

We all need to learn how to handle rejection. Most of us get told “no” more than we are told “yes.” We need to learn how to deal with it, and we need to model handling the word “no” gracefully for our children as well. And may I add that if you are not being told “no,” then you are not living all out. With all out living comes much rejection.

Do you have something you keep trying with no apparent success?  Don’t give up, your victory could be just around the corner.

As for me, yes, I received another “no” recently, but that just means that I am that much closer to the “big yes.” I am not giving up on…well…me. I don’t know how many more rejections I have in store, but I am not giving up.

One could say that success and rejection are best friends. Have you been rejected lately? Embrace it like a friend, press on, and turn it into a success!