When Rejection Is A Form Of Protection

by Diana Chin 

As I’m sitting here typing this article, my inbox pinged with another rejection email from a company that I applied for a content writing position. With a quick glance, it read: We’re sorry, but after much consideration, we decide not to proceed with your interview. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

Rejection hurts, doesn’t it? A sense of pride shot in the dark, hoping that you’ll manage to arrive at the finish line.

The feeling of being passed over by someone else who may (or may not) do a better job than you would perform. Some may argue that the hiring system is faulty; that there’s no emphasis on the real value of the human character. Instead, hiring recruiters look to see if you can fit the description based on text and not by taking the time to assess the candidate’s innate drive to work hard in the position.

I remember feeling depressed one night. My hands tingled after sending multiple applications, in hopes that someone will recognize my worth in creating practical content. Not for reasons of fame or becoming a sensational celebrity figure. Just purely out of love for writing out my thoughts. Changing careers in exchange for a risky setting and tasted the curiosity of the unknown is something that I’ve known too well over the past couple of years as a customer support representative. As I meditated in front of my altar, I can hear my aunt’s words come to mind:

When you experience rejection, that’s the Universe’s way of providing protection.

I remember feeling the tears streaming down my face as I let out the exhaustion, grief, and hopelessness out of my system. Here I am, a mother of a toddler wanting to make her son’s life better by pursuing a dream that I held during my childhood.  The embrace of my husband’s arms as he soothed my anguish while reassuring me that things will get better. At some point, I felt a fire within my heart telling me not to give up. It is a constant struggle. But after hearing my aunt’s words resonating in my wearied soul, I decided to brush off the sadness and continued forward.

No matter what part of life you’re facing, you will always be met with obstacles. If life were meant to be easy, we would have no lessons to learn. Rejections are not permanent unless you want it to be so by throwing the towel.  As Rocky Balboa once said, “Our greatest glory is not in falling, but rising every time we fall.”

Consider this: the most successful celebrities we’ve come to love and admire (I’m looking at you Oprah and J.K. Rowling) started with a string of failures before finding their success. And really, what’s not to feel inspired after reading about their constant end of rejections before hitting it big?

How to deal with rejection

When we experience rejection, one must take into consideration that this is not the end of an opportunity. Some doors are meant to close. Your job isn’t to open them up again. Imagine breaking down a door, and you find yourself staring deep into the abyss. Yep, that opportunity you looked hard for ended up being a dead end. You don’t want to fall down that rabbit hole.

In case you’re wondering, I don’t delete my rejection letters.

I save them as a reminder that I’m one step closer to my goal. It’s also another reminder that the rejected companies I applied are saving me a headache (and potential loss) in the long run.