Dear friends,

One of my deepest-seeded and longest standing fears is rejection. I imagine some of you can relate.

Through all of my inner work, therapy, and self-reflection,  the one lesson that is always hard for me to move through is when I’ve been rejected (or felt as though I were rejected). I recently was in a situation where I felt rejected, and it brought up so many ugly thoughts, feelings, and emotions that I thought I had put to rest long ago. But as Pema Chodron so masterfully says, “Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know.” And so, I stayed open to learning what rejection had to teach me this time around.

As we know, life is what we make it, and how we perceive it. We may not be able to control what happens externally, but we can control our reactions to it. In this situation, I decided it was finally time to reframe how I view rejection. What if being “rejected” is just simply a means for me to be redirected to something better? How much better does that feel to think of it this way? It helped me out, for sure. Here are some other helpful things to remember when you’re feeling rejected, I hope they help!

– Remember, it’s always this or something better. If you’re rejected from something, you’re being directed to something else. Stay positive and keep the faith that the good will come.
– Remember, nothing anyone ever does or says is ever because of you. If you’re feeling rejected from a particular person, take comfort in knowing their actions towards you have nothing to do with who you are or your self-worth.
– Remember, that sometimes not getting what we want is the greatest stroke of luck. Sometimes, we think we know best, but in honesty, we can never know the full story from all angles. Trust that life is supporting you and guiding you in the right direction.
– Remember, that even after all of this, if you’re still feeling down about not being accepted by a job, group, spouse, or friend, you are still amazingly capable, whole, and lovable. The right job, group, spouse, or friend will always show up when you fully remember and own this.

How do you handle rejection in your life? Have you ever had a situation where you were rejected from something only to be redirected from something even better? Let me know!

xo, Michelle