At one point in time, almost all of us have faced some sort of rejection.

Whether it was from a school, a company, family, friends, coworkers, or a promotion that you didn’t receive, rejection hurts. However, rejection has a way of teaching and redirecting us to things, people, places, and opportunities that are sometimes better than originally expected.

“Rejection is protection for something greater that is to come”

Rejections means taking risks.

Risks help us understand more about who we are and where we want to go. More so, risks help us develop the skills to deal with the inevitable adversity life brings. Resilience. Strength. Perseverance. Determination. Integrity.

Find the lesson in the situation.

Turn adversity into self-growth and self-exploration.

“You are so much stronger than you think”

According to MRI studies, emotional pain triggers the same pathways in the brain caused by physical pain. This may be why we personalize with the pain of rejection – amplifying and prolonging the sensation.

Rather than identifying with the rejection, or the pain, it can be beneficial to separate what happened to you from who you know that you are.

A helpful way of doing this is by talking to yourself like you would a friend. If your friend got rejected, would you tell them that they were unworthy or undeserving? Probably not. Then why do we talk to ourselves in that way?

Moments where rejection was coped with in a healthy way, can make rejection less intense in the future. How rejection is interpreted is important. It can excel us to push harder next time, or limit us from ever trying again.

Sometimes something good has to be subtracted from our lives before something better can take its place – Ann Spangler

While rejection can weigh heavily on the heart, there’s a better feeling that awaits you. Acceptation.

Stop wasting your time and energy trying to convince those who don’t understand, when there’s someone else who is ready to receive all that you have to offer.

I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat – Sylvester Stallone

When rejection occurs, try not to make it mean something more than it does.

The simplicity behind rejection is no.

It’s a decision at that moment of time that isn’t a good fit.

It might be because the person has incomplete information.

Or, is that person’s opinion.

Get a second opinion.

Maybe it was bad timing – try again.

Or, try again in a different way.

Maybe it was due to lack of knowledge – do more research. Interpret the rejection as an opportunity to learn. Ask questions to uncover as much as you can behind the rejection.

A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success – Bo Bennett

Remember, even the most successful people got rejected and failed before they reached success.

Life’s like that.

Those who preserver, even when things don’t go as planned, are the ones who ultimately get ahead.

The same can be true for you.

If you stay open minded, act on feedback and refuse to get pulled into your own self-doubt, you will find that risking rejection when life calls for it will eventually pay big dividends.

Your time is next – trust the process.