I know first hand that rejection is hurtful. We’ve all been there. It may have been the simplest of things: a decline to coffee, a decline to lunch or even a decline to a small conversation. It may have even been a decline to entering a relationship after weeks of getting to know one another. In either case, you may feel embarrassed or you may have lost some confidence in yourself.
And it is okay.
But, in all honesty, the sting does survive way past the burn. You may have heard these words countless times and though people who provide these words mean no harm, it just doesn’t help:
“You’ll be fine and it’ll get better.”
“There will be others.”
“It’s been weeks already and I mean, I don’t know, you just shouldn’t feel this way anymore.”
But we do. We still feel the hurt, we still feel the pain, and we still feel the slap of words we never want to hear again. People heal differently and everyone is guilty of assuming everyone heals the same. Time does heal all wounds, but time performs differently on each and every one of us.
Go ahead and binge watch your favorite show.
Go ahead and eat your favorite ice cream while watching cheesy rom-coms.
Go ahead and just be with your infinite thoughts.
Do what you need to do to jump over the one obstacle out of the many that life will throw at you. Yet, the beauty of life is that there is SO much more. Life is so rich and full of so many promises that will bring you happiness, joy, and continually make you a better you. There are so many things to look forward to and so many ways to enjoy the present. Enjoy what you have, rather than what you don’t, and be grateful.
Go ahead and travel with your closest friends and make the greatest of memories.
Go ahead and paint the sunset or the nature surrounding you.
Go ahead and journal whatever you’d like to write about.
Rejection shouldn’t define you. It should better you and challenge you to keep going. A friend sent me a photo last week as I was talking to her about writing this letter and it portrays what we should all keep in mind at the point in our lives where we do get rejected:
There is a reason behind things that happen to us. You may not understand it then, but you will realize later on that it was for the best. Take time to heal and get back on your feet because when you do, you’ll feel better than ever before.