Although I am a personal development blogger by profession, I am in no way a mental health professional. See my disclaimer for more info.
Are you in a season of rejection in your life? No worries — I’ll teach you how to deal with rejection and learn from these experiences.
One of the worst feelings you can experience in life is rejection.
I’m talking about all kinds of rejection, including relationships, work, college applications, and more. Rejection hurts — especially when we believe we meet the qualifications of a certain role or situation.
Maybe you’re here because you just got a rejection letter from your dream college. Or maybe you just received an email saying you didn’t get that job you wanted. Whatever it is, I’m sure you’re not feeling too great about it.
And that’s okay! Trust me — I’ve been rejected quite a lot. Going through a season of rejection can be tough, but it doesn’t have to be. In this post, I’m going to share with you some of my tips to cope with rejection.
Are you ready? Let’s get into it!
THIS POST IS ALL ABOUT how to deal with rejection.
Rejection Affirmations to Say:
Below are some healing affirmations you can say during your season of rejection. Most of these affirmations come from a Quora post I found — from the first and second posts (from Dorothy Sciortino and Linum). Others are my own.
Feel free to say any of them aloud or in your head as often as you’d like! Learn more about affirmations here.
- Being rejected has nothing to do with who I am.
- I am stronger than what my life throws at me.
- Alone time is exactly what I need right now.
- This was meant to be.
- I know and understand that rejection is redirection.
- I am resilient and capable of bouncing back from this.
- I release the need of approval from others.
- I am open to receiving feedback.
- I know that this doesn’t determine my talent or worth.
- Each rejection brings me closer to success.
THINK: Which of these affirmations will you use? Tell me in the comments if you feel comfortable doing so!
How to Deal with Rejection:
1. Take some time to heal
Like I said earlier, rejection is tough. It definitely doesn’t feel good to be rejected, but it also doesn’t feel good to hold in the negative emotions that you feel. Instead of holding them in and ignoring them, take some time to heal.
Sometimes, rejection can really affect you mentally, and you have to allow yourself time to make a strong comeback. I promise it’s worth it!
2. Avoid comparing yourself
When you’re rejected, it can feel easy to quickly compare yourself to someone who has what you were rejected from.
For example, say you were rejected from your dream college. It really broke you down and, to cope, you go and watch tons of acceptance videos online.
It might feel good in the moment, but in reality, that’s only making things worse. To truly and healthily move on, you can’t compare yourself to others. You want to, instead, make an effort to detach yourself from the situation.
RELATED POST: 15 Practical Tips on How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others and Start Feeling More Confident
3. Acknowledge & accept that it’s not personal
Many times, rejection can feel quite personal. You might say something like, “Geez, I thought I was worth landing this role!”
But rejection is rarely personal. It’s also not based on your strengths or talents, so if you thought that was the case, you might want to think again.
4. Remind yourself of your strengths
I get it — when you’re rejected, it’s almost like all of your strengths are just thrown out the window.
But if you want to handle this in a healthier way, you have to remind yourself of the strengths that gave you the courage to step out in fear, in the first place.
Whether this means mentally recalling them or individually listing them on a sheet of paper, do whatever you need to remind yourself that you’re awesome.
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5. Remember that rejection is redirection
I’m sure you’ve heard of the infamous saying: “Rejection is redirection.”
It basically means that sometimes you’re rejected because better things are yet to come. For a while, I didn’t believe it because I thought, “How could this lead to something bigger and better?”
That’s a naive perspective right there.
See, you may not know it in the moment, but eventually you’ll learn why something didn’t work out.
6. Be proud of yourself for trying
At the end of the day, you should be proud of yourself for trying. This is one of the only things you have control of when you’ve been rejected.
Trust me — it feels good to celebrate yourself after such a painful loss.
7. Know that it’s not the end of the world
No matter how big or small the rejection is, you have to remember that it’s not the end of the world. It’s not the end-all-be-all if you don’t get an outcome you were expecting.
Don’t panic, okay?! There’s absolutely no need to do so.
8. Know that there will be better, more life-changing opportunities
Let’s piggyback off the last tip. No matter what, there will be more opportuities to come. I understand that it may not seem like it in the moment, but it’s true.
You just have to wait until the right moment arrives. In the meantime, continue building upon your talents and traits.
9. Talk it out
The last thing you want to do when you’re rejected is hold in those negative feelings and emotions. You want to, instead, talk them out so you can feel better.
Sometimes a simple venting session can make you feel so much more encouraged and strong.
Let’s recap!
We made it to the end of the post!
Today, we talked about how to deal with rejection.
Rejection definitely isn’t the best feeling, but there are many ways to cope. I hope this post you deal with any sort of rejection you’re experiencing!
Please remember to take time to take care of yourself!
I know, in this economy, it can be hard to find free things to do that are fun. That’s why I put together a list of 7 free self care activities to enjoy today!
In the midst of chaos, don’t forget to smile,
DeMarcus – your self care buddy
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