The other day I was listening to a podcast “On Purpose with Jay Shetty” titled “Why Rejection Hurts….” Rejection can be positive if we think of what our next steps are or what the possibilities might be.
Having spent the past 18 months in career transition, a few things there that I could relate to! But found specific value in viewing rejection a little bit differently through a more positive lens and learning from our rejection experiences.
Three key takeaways for me that I consider to be very relevant for me personally, and I think could be useful in some coaching conversations in relation to changing direction or seeking new opportunities:
- “Rejection = Redirection”
You’ll get to where you want in life, perhaps just not the way you expected.
Accept and embrace the fact that rejections, pushbacks, setbacks are ok – they are part of our pathway to success. Challenges are just part of the journey of life.
- “Rejection is always Right”
It’s ok; you don’t want to find yourself in a place where you are not wanted anyway!
Be actively curious about rejection; ask why? What can I learn from it? Failure is feedback. Treat it as a gift. Listen to it.
- “No leads you to Find the Flow”
Hearing No leads us towards us to finding the right Yes, by pushing us in a direction of flow to figure out what it is we want to do, and what we need to do to get there.
I think in most cases we can all rationalise outcomes with the benefit of hindsight, but wouldn’t it be great if we could embrace rejection more positively in the heat of the moment. The above may help put a different perspective on it.
