Let me share a heartwarming and inspiring quote about facing rejection. No, forget the quote. This is 2021. No trite quote is going to make you feel better.
So the best I can do is give you a little hope. Sooner or later, your obstacles will be behind you. What matters most is your decision to take every step possible to make sure it’s sooner, even if the rejection process leaves you feeling beaten up and tortured.
You aren’t alone, whether you are being repeatedly rejected in a job hunt or feeling the sting of being sidelined (or disrespected) in your current job.
For the most part, it’s not personal
Rejection feels personal, but with so many millions of people are getting rejected over and over and over again, you have to realize it’s not you. It’s the times. You can sit here in tears or decide to get on with things – no matter what.
This is the time to embrace the old Japanese proverb, “Fall down seven times, get up eight.” The mantra will carry you past every rejection because it is a reminder that you are bigger than your obstacles if you just keep going.
Even if you are responsible for letting your skills lag or didn’t play the game right, the adversity you face in this moment is shared – not individual. Your bosses or other companies aren’t kicking YOU. They are kicking everybody. It’s Covid. It’s the economy. It’s the insanity of what is going on in our country.
Whatever happens, you are still as brilliant, talented, successful and awesome as you always were. It’s hard to remember that when you are being knocked around, but if you lose faith in yourself, how are others going to have faith in you?
So, regroup. Be kind to yourself. Make up your mind that you will not be defeated and liberate your old confident self because that is the part of you that will fix everything.
Don’t ask, “Why me?” It won’t help.
It’s natural to ask yourself “Why me?” but that can put you in the victim mode, and you do not want to be there. Instead, figure out what it will take to boost your odds and make yourself more viable professionally so you can get what you want, need and deserve,
Yes, always, always, ALWAYS upskill and (forgive the plug here, but it will help you) follow the steps toward relevance in my new book, Coming Back! How to Win the Job You Want When You’ve Lost the Job You Need. That will get you back on track whether you are feeling cast aside or pushed around at work, or it will help get you hired if you looking for work in this unbelievably competitive moment.
When you feel down, tell yourself, “I will never, ever quit.” And mean it. Because if you know in your gut that you are in it all the way, you will win. The difference between winners and losers in times like this is that losers think they might fail. Winners know there is always one more thing to try. Unfortunately, big troubles rarely end right when you want or need them to end, and you don’t get a calendar notification about when life is going to finally ease up. You just take it a day at a time knowing that it will get better – especially if you keep your head in the game.
Breathe.
I promise, it will get better.
I see the obstacles of life like a bunch of dominoes falling. Every bad thing that has ever happened to me has led me to something better. While you face your challenges, don’t forget to keep living. Do things that you enjoy and allow yourself to be happy. Have faith. You are stronger than your obstacles.
Rejection hurts. It’s insulting. You deserve better.
But everybody’s going through it. Be tougher than the rest, never quit and you will do just fine.
The post Feeling kicked around? Keep your heart in the game during the challenge of 2021. appeared first on Fawn Germer.