Rejection Is Redirection
Yesterday on my drive back to Fayetteville, I listened to one of those Two Hot Takes podcast episodes in which the guest or cohost said the phrase:
“Rejection is redirection.”
And, it hit me like a ton of bricks while I was listening. I don’t even remember what story she was referring to when she said this, but I’m so grateful that I heard these words.
Last July through August, I kept thinking about the semi-viral debate of which is worse, rejection or regret, thanks to Steve Lacy’s song “Bad Habit”. I wrote about regret already, which I now wholeheartedly believe is infinitely worse than rejection. It’s actually one of my favorite posts that I’ve ever written, and it’s called “Unpacking A Fear” if you’d like to read it. At the beginning of that post though, I mentioned that it would be a two-parter, but I never managed to write my opinion on rejection. Thank God I didn’t, because I would’ve never heard such a beautiful way to think about something so . . abysmal (at times at least).
Rejection is the death of one’s ego. It cuts so deep sometimes when you’ve put your heart and soul into a project or goal that you believe could change everything in your life. I could argue it hurts even more when you’ve poured into someone you admire, dare I say, love, and in an instant, you’ve lost all of it, all of that effort.
The worst part about it is the uncertainty that rejection brings.
“What am I supposed to do now that I’ve slaved hours away—that I can never get back might I add—working on this?”
“What am I supposed to do with knowing their favorite candy?”
“What am I supposed to do with all this hard work?”
“Who do I call now when my coworker just pissed me off royally, and I know they’d get just as angry as me?”
“How am I supposed to be supportive when someone else gets the opportunity that I wasn’t afforded?”
“Why couldn’t I have just not seen that item that I know would make them laugh uncontrollably?”
“What am I supposed to do with this dream that’s been crushed?”
The unknown of what to do and how to proceed with all this knowledge you’ve acquired, the care you’ve shown, or the love you gave for something or someone you might’ve been so passionate about—it’s enough to make anyone go mad sometimes, especially when you really wanted it.
It’s enough to just say: “F*ck that, I’ll never do that again”, and what a horrible mindset that I think so many people, including myself, fall into.
If I’ve learned anything from the past six to seven months, maybe even a year, rejection is living proof that you were vulnerable, that you rejected those insecurities and fears of not getting the thing or the person, that you attempted to make something of yourself.
Rejection is evidence that you’re living a full life or at least attempting to, and the best part of it all—
“Rejection is redirection.”
The beauty of rejection is that the disappointment or hurt doesn’t come from within, as regret does, since it’s outside forces that have worked against you.
Rejection forces you to reevaluate yourself and your surroundings and make new plans. It forces blessings that you probably don’t even know are coming. It’s these learning curves from rejection that have advanced humans to where we are today and what we will be tomorrow.
Rejection forces us to try to think bigger. Be more strategic. Try harder.
This redirecting power forces us to live, because what is life without adversity and hardship? What is life without trying, failing, and trying again? What is life without the hope of new beginnings?
In case you need the answer—life is nothing without exploring the possibilities of better outcomes.
I know that this isn’t part of the series I’m doing on social cues, empathy, and characters, but I needed to write about this before it slipped my mind forever. We will continue with the scheduled topic soonish. I hit another block with it, mainly because there are stories I’m trying to decipher whether or not I want to tell.
I hope you all enjoyed this brief little post. Thank you for reading, and have a great rest of your day!
