So maybe Valentine’s Day didn’t go as well as you thought it would… or maybe you’re experiencing trying times in your career. In the second segment of YSN’s 4 week series about success in your personal and professional lives, we’ll focus on the painful art of dealing with rejection.
When The Going Gets Tough: Whether you experience a broken heart, failed business, layoff, termination or rejection from your dream job or school, being handed your walking papers is never easy to deal with. It can affect your self-esteem, make you feel depressed, or worse, cause you to stop dreaming all together – and we can’t let that happen. If you ever find yourself facing hardship, it’s important to try not to lose your perspective — and keep moving forward. Besides, you know the drill: time heals all wounds, and things will get better, even though that may seem impossible at first.
Some things to help you along the way:
1. Be patient, allow yourself to “grieve” (feel and think about all the negativity and emotions). Even if you don’t usually write, try taking a pen to paper and jotting down your thoughts – you might be surprised at what you discover. And by all means, do not be ashamed or think it is a sign of weakness if you need professional help. Who says anyone has to know?
2. See if there are any lessons you can take away from this experience. Maybe if you use a different approach or take a few extra-curricular courses and give it another try in a few weeks or months, you can have a different outcome. If you can turn it into something positive, you can get past the pain more quickly.
3. Keep yourself busy so you don’t fixate on what happened. Spend time with friends, keep searching for job opportunities, delve into more research, fix your resume, find a mentor — but when you want to be alone and do nothing, go right ahead. By continuing to think positively about the future, you will be less likely to become depressed.
If you or someone you know is going through tough times, there are a lot of resources available to help, including the “Guide to Grieving: Coping with a Divorce or Relationship Breakup” and “Grief and Loss: A fact sheet produced by the Mental Health Information Service.”
Do your best not to let “No” hold you back from success. Read this article by Coping.org on overcoming the fear of rejection or Psychology Today’s helpful hints on building your self-esteem.
Jovie Baclayon is a communications associate for the Young Presidents’ Organization and a freelance writer based in Santa Monica, California.
Be Sure to Check Out the Entire Series!
Live By Your Own Rules: YSN’s Tips for Having it All in Your Career, Life and Love (Part 1)
Get Over It! YSN’s Tips for Having it All in Your Career, Life and Love (Part 2)
It’s Time to Find Love: YSN’s Tips for Having it All in Your Career, Life and Love (Part 3)
It’s all in the Contract: YSN’s Tips for Having it All in Your Career, Life and Love (Part 4)
