How to Deal with Rejection?

Picture from نفس exhibition 

We all deal with rejection at some point in our lives. It is common. For example, you get rejected by the girl/boy you have a crush on. You get turned down for the job you applied for. A friend chooses to walk to school alone. The scholarship application you applied for gets rejected. Your boss shoots down your proposal. Rejection is all around us.

The question here is how much of rejection can we put up to before we actually break? The answer is it depends. Do you break or move on easily? Do you try harder? You have the answers, not me. Rejection is part of our daily life and it is a reminder that we are still trying. It is the reason we keep on trying.

This year is my first year as a graduate. I am no longer considered a student. The fact that I no longer emerge in books, papers, and due dates. However, deep down, I know my academic mission is not over yet. Until then, I have to deal with practical life.

I have been keeping myself as busy as possible. I kept on learning new things and discovering the self-based learning system. I started my own blog. I applied for so many programs and jobs. The good thing is that my personal resume is now everywhere.I learned how to deal with rejection and I will share with you the tips I used to do so:

1.      Embrace it

Believe it, or not. It is not easy to embrace rejection. Especially if you tried your best at whatever you wanted to achieve or reach. It only means that you need to make an extra effort. Remember, it is okay to be rejected.

2.      You are good enough

We all think that once we get rejected, it means that we are not good. In fact, we are still good. Don't let anyone tell you the opposite. Believe in yourself and work on you more.

3.      Don't give up

I have been rejected from over 10 programs and jobs. Did I give up? No. Did I think of giving up? Yes. As I mentioned, we are humans. We are not perfect. It is not about the numbers, it can be your first time or a hundred. Keep moving forward.

4.      It is NOT the end of the world

You read it correctly, it is not! Your life doesn't depend on the thing/person you were rejected for. Even though rejection hurts, the ways you choose to handle it determine the entire course of your future. You will end up questioning yourself which can eventually lead to self-doubt.

5.      Learn from rejection

Ask yourself this question "What did I gain from this?" Turn it into an opportunity rather than a wasted one. With each rejection, you grow stronger and become better. You simply recognize that being turned down isn't awful as you imagined; rejection can be a good teacher.

Rejection is set for us as an obstacle that holds us back but it surely shouldn't stop us. Each rejection has a story and a lesson learned from it. Once we acknowledge the psychological damage it will cause and learn how to rebuild our self-esteem, it will then be easier to recover faster and sooner.