No matter what direction life takes you in, there will always be moments where you have to put yourself and your skills on the line. Depending on who or what you are up against, these moments can lead to rejection.

Rejection is difficult to overcome because we want to view ourselves as successful and we often feel our best when we are succeeding at what we love to do. However, rejection is an important part of the process of becoming an effective decision maker. It also is important for your growth overall.

Welcome Rejection

One of the most important things to consider when working to overcome rejection is to accept that it happens. Once you come to terms with this, you can begin to work on accepting the fact that rejection is not necessarily a bad thing. Even though the word rejection is filled with negative connotations, it has its benefits.

Take each rejection you receive in life and dissect it. What do you need to improve? If you didn’t get the part in the production you auditioned for because you weren’t athletic enough, look at the steps you can take for your next audition. In this scenario, you could either begin working toward a more athletic build, or you could take it as an opportunity to see that your strengths lie in more graceful movements.

The important thing is to look at rejection as notes on your current level of progress and not as solid “no”s or concrete failures.

Use Fear as a Guide

Many of the rejections you face over time come down to fear. This is because fear can lead us in directions that undermine our skills and our ability to succeed.

Because of this, it is important to use fear as a guide without letting it drive you away from opportunity. We get nervous when we know that we will have to strive hard for a difficult goal. This is the fear you should follow. When your fear says “this is too hard,” understand that what it means is “this will be a challenge.” Then take that challenge, and put everything you have into trying to succeed. Even if you don’t get the desired outcome, you will grow.

Celebrate Success

The most important thing to remember when you are trying to overcome rejection is that you cannot focus on it. It is easy to make long lists of everything we do wrong or of every aspect that falls short of where we want to be. This is the wrong approach.

We should make lists of everything we have accomplished and how we are progressing toward our goals. These lists might be shorter, but that is because they are growing because of our failures as we learn from them.

So, take time to celebrate your best moments. It is important to take notes on our rejections and failures, too, but you shouldn’t dwell on them.

Rejection can be a scary term to think about, but when you break it down into something useful. It becomes a great teacher that you can use to grow and move forward. It all comes down to approaching rejection with a more positive outlook and a careful eye.

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Veronica Good has been with Showstopper Magazine since 2016. When she isn't keeping you updated on the latest trends, she is at home with her many pets or probably playing The Sims 4. Veronica has a BA in English and an MA in writing from Coastal Carolina University. She is also a writer of fiction and poetry, and her work can be found in Archarios, Tempo, and Scapegoat.