Tuesday, July 16, 1996

Overcoming the fear of rejection

Does the fear of rejection keep you from taking the actions necessary to achieve your dreams? Imagine for a moment the kind of success you could have if you could transcend that fear.

Ask yourself, what’s the worst that could happen if you are “rejected". Usually, the worst that can happen is that you’ll hear someone say “no". Is that so bad?

Let your fear of rejection be a positive influence. Fear gives you energy, and the ability to sharply focus on your situation. So feel the fear, take energy and clarity from it, and do the feared thing anyway. Don’t let your fear stop you, but let it motivate you to be more prepared.

Learn to transcend your fear by practice. Seek out “rejection” and experience it. Start small, with things that are inconsequential. Call a busy friend and invite them to lunch on short notice. Chances are, they’ll say “no, thank you” and you’ll have a “rejection experience” under your belt. Make a game out of it, trying to see how many “rejections” you can get before you get a “yes.” With each experience, you’ll gain a personal understanding that rejection is not “the end of the world” and that it is nothing to be feared.

Realize that you, and you alone, are responsible for your own worth. Nothing anyone can do, say or think will change your value as a human being. Only you have the power to do that. It is impossible for anyone to reject you unless you let them, because rejection occurs in your own mind.

Believe in what you’re doing. That will make rejections the other person’s problem, not yours.

Colonel Harlan Sanders was a retiree receiving Social Security. He had a pretty good recipe for fried chicken, and decided to try to sell the recipe to restaurants in return for a percentage of the revenue that it generated. Colonel Sanders drove around the country, sleeping in his car, looking for restaurants that might be interested in his recipe. He was rejected 1,009 times before someone finally said “yes". One thousand and nine rejections! Because he was able to keep going after each one, he made a fortune as the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Don’t let the fear of rejection stop you. Learn to draw strength from it.

— Ralph Marston

Look around you -- there you are! Spend some time with yourself next

Copyright ©1996 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.