Rejection is one of life’s most challenging emotions. Some of us initially get angry, some sad, some need to lie down in a dark room with a pet, and for others it pushes us into a destructive cycle.
Whatever your personal reaction, it’s important not to ‘act’ upon the source until you’ve had time to reflect. We must allow the seven stages of grief (shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing, and acceptance) to pass before planning our next action.
If you’re lucky, this will happen quickly and you can then decide how to move on. For others it takes time, depending also in the severity. But move on we must and I like to think of rejection (and I’ve had more than my fair share working in the arts all my life) as a path to growth.
Life is, and always has been, one long list of challenges. Some more pleasant than others. But by blocking the ones we don’t like, we deny ourselves the greatest chance of personal growth.
Facing challenges head on (after grieving) is exceptionally empowering. The more we do it, the more we boost our self-esteem and resolve and the easier it becomes to do it again later.
The most important thing though is to ‘act’ rather than ‘react’. Reaction is a negative connotation to something happening to you. To act is a positive response on your own terms as the direction you want to go. You’ll know the difference intrinsically as one feels stronger than the other. More wholesome and empowering. These are the way we rewrite the rules in our favour after a setback and I wish you much empowerment with yours.