Is rejection harmful?
“So many people will tell you ”no”, and you need to find something you believe in so hard that you just smile and tell them ”watch me”. Learn to take rejection as motivation to prove people wrong. Be unstoppable. Refuse to give up, no matter what. It’s the best skill you can ever learn.”
― Charlotte Eriksson
Rejection. It's a word that so many of us fear. We do nearly anything that we can to not get rejected, including not moving forward in creating our dream businesses and with our own personal desires and growth. When we get rejected we tend to wallow in self-pity and replay the rejection over and over, feeling a lot of tension and stress about it. We can be so scared of rejection or rejecting others that it ends up running our lives. I've found lately that rejection isn't so bad for several reasons.
1. No one can say Yes to everything
You have to remember that no one wants to purchase products from every single person they know that is selling something (and many people can't purchase from everyone even if they wanted every product). Who cares if a few people you know or even 100 people don't want to buy your product? There are thousands of others who would be thrilled to buy your products because they see the value in what you're offering and how it can change their lives. As long as you have a great product or service being offered and you are confident in your product and yourself, the right people will say yes. This goes for everything, even things like asking friends and family to get together and hang out. Imagine how exhausting and overwhelming it would be if you said yes to doing everything and buying everything.
2. No does not mean No Forever
People may have other plans or things going on the same day that you invited them to an event, get together or an outing. It does not mean that they don't ever want to come. They are simply busy at that particular time. Try inviting them again if they have a busy schedule or a few more times if needed. Try to understand that No is not a personal insult and that everyone has a different schedule and different things going on in their lives. When they have time, that No may become a Yes.
3. Your priorities are not everyone's priorities
Everyone has different priorities and different things that are important to them. For some people it may be fashion, for others make up, some people may have healthy and clean living priorities and for others it could be sports. You can't take it personally when others have different priorities than you and they don't think exactly like you do. You can't change other people or make people to want something as much as we all may want to.
4. Rejection helps build resilience
If you stopped trying or gave up every time someone told you No, how far do you think you would advance towards meeting your goals? Not very far. Typically people you invite to any given event cannot come due to other plans, work or other priorities (No for NOW). Be resilient to No and realize its not the end of the world. Invite that person to your next event. Other people will come and even if no one shows up you can always find something else to do with your time and energy to be productive towards meeting your goals.
5. It's OK to say No
Do you realize how exhausting it is to say yes to everything? To go to every party or event, buy something from every friend and acquaintance or do everything that people ask you to do? If you're saying Yes all of the time then you most likely aren't living life for YOU. Life isn't about how much stuff you can accumulate that you don't want or how popular you are. Saying Yes to everything is mentally and physically exhausting, it can really bring you down and also bring a lot of stress into your life. People will not dislike you if you say No sometimes. It is OK to do what you WANT to do and not what you feel obligated to do.
Don't be afraid of people saying No to you, your product or something you invited them to do. It is not a personal rejection and should not be taken that way. They need to take care of themselves and their desires first also - remember that.
What do you need to say No to from now on? What things do you feel obligated to do that make you feel unhappy or frustrated? Make yourself and your desires a priority in your life starting today!
