Nobody is immune to rejection, and it has an effect on everyone – even the most confident and talented people. When you take risks in life, you face the possibility that you might be shut down or might not make the cut. This can even sometimes result in rejection trauma.
Different phases of life bring different opportunities and situations where we may be motivated to put ourselves out there and be vulnerable. Dating, high school sports tryouts, college applications, and job interviews are a few prime examples. There’s a reason you probably shudder at the thought of these experiences — they all come with a reasonable chance of rejection, and the odds are pretty good that you’ve experienced rejection already in one of these contexts.
Rejection can require some healing. Here are some ways you can recover from rejection trauma:
- Allow yourself to feel – Rather than suppressing all the emotions that come with rejection, allow yourself to feel and process them. Holding in your negative emotions and bottling up all the feelings often only makes them feel worse.
- Spend time with those who accept you – This will remind you that you are loved and accepted by people. Just because some experiences in the past may not have gone the way you hoped, it is important to surround yourself with others who appreciate the real you and validate your worth. As the famous saying goes, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”
- Practice self-love – It’s so important to love and have a positive relationship with yourself. Doing so will help you be more resilient during future instances of rejection. Make a list of the positive traits you have that you’re proud of, inside and out. Appreciate the parts of yourself that you love, and work on cultivating good self esteem. You can also make a list of your accomplishments, both big and small.
Remember, rejection is normal. It happens to everyone and is just a part of life. So, if you find yourself feeling rejected in the future, remember that your feelings are totally valid, and so is your resilience. Whatever you do, keep moving forward.
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