Rejection is redirection

By Putri Najaa Azalea

If you have ever been through the tumbling and steep mountain that we call life, you might have dealt with “no” countless times. Maybe it was from an audition for a dream role you have been dying to get, or a job application you swore was the right fit for you. Nevertheless, for some reason, the stinging yet sweet feeling of rejection always finds a way to bite us whenever we need a “yes” the most.

If you have been there before, you would know that accepting a “no” is never easy. If you are like me, it takes a myriad of days to recover from a refusal. But through my own experiences, I have learnt to accept rejection, and even as annoying as it is, the hurtful refusal of someone else can be the very reason why we grow.

Understanding why it happens

Take this with a grain of salt, but I would say that one of the most common reasons why rejection happens so often is because not everything we do is someone’s cup of tea.

Think of it this way: when you walk into a store, do you always leave with an item in your hand? Sometimes, the products in there do not match with your needs at the moment. Similarly, what you give does not always match with people’s expectations — and that is totally fine. The journey to get approval is a process that requires trial and error, so you have to either work your way into doing things differently, or reach out to the right people in order to finally get the approval you deserve. It is like what they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure!

What kills you make you stronger

Oftentimes, when we get rejected, our first instinct is to hide away or give up altogether. We all feel frustrated after getting rejected, but what most people do not realise is that rejection gives us something approval can never give — It helps us understand our own mistakes.

Through rejection, we can acknowledge our slip ups and the details we could have done differently. This way, we can come back stronger by executing our next chance way better than the first.

Rejection is NOT failure

Contrary to common belief, being rejected is NOT a step closer to failing. In fact, there are many inspiring stories of people who did not let rejection prevent them from success.

Michael Jordan had his own humble beginnings. As a teenager, he was rejected from his own high school basketball team, due to not being as tall or as skilled as his other peers.

If he were like most people, this could have crushed his ambition and hopes to become a basketball player. But what he did differently was that he used this rejection as fuel to push forward, and eventually trained hard enough to get into the Chicago Bulls. This is followed by him leading his team to win six NBA Championships, and eventually, earned the title of The Greatest Of All Time.

His story is one of the many stories that show that we should never let setbacks such as rejection hold us back. Instead, we should view these setbacks in a positive light so we can use them as motivation to push forward and try again instead.

Do not give up!

One thing everyone needs to accept is that whether we like it or not, we are bound to face rejection. And in life, we need to accept that it is completely okay to face “no’s” once in a while.

So relax, take a breather, and strive to push your best while you wait for the next chance. Who knows? Maybe next time is the chance you will finally get the “yes” you have been waiting for.