Overcoming the fear of rejection
Humans are social beings, so it is in our nature to long to be accepted. However, it is an absolute fact that we will encounter rejection in life, which can happen to us in love life, social life, or at work and can happen to us in various colorful ways. While many are quick to "recover" from rejection, for others, it is a far more complex experience that they would avoid at all costs.
As a result, many afraid of rejection close in and fear new experiences, new social situations, job opportunities, love interactions, and other life events where rejection is possible.
The fear of rejection becomes a blockade between the sufferer and the happy, fulfilled life. What can we do to overcome this fear?
Let's accept that rejection is part of life. Let's clarify one thing, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being rejected - everyone faces rejection at some point in their lives. Sure, it may shake your confidence for a while, but your journey through life will not be so exciting or meaningful if everything is always rosy. Accept any rejection as an opportunity to build your character and remember - breaking does not define who you are or how much you are worth.
Work on your self-confidence. Some people do not take rejection to heart, nor do they take it personally. So how do these people manage to cope with the rejection so well? The key is self-confidence. A person with self-confidence will not give up if they are rejected for a job.
On the contrary, they will confirm their ability and continue looking for another job. Fear is rooted in low self-esteem, making rejection seem like a plausible scenario. Of course, boosting your self-esteem is always easier said than done. But when you feel worthy of success and when you realize that you deserve good things to happen to you, whether it is your job or your love life, you will not be afraid of rejection so much.
Do not be negative. People who are afraid of rejection often condemn and underestimate themselves and often think that they are not good enough. Example "I'm not good enough, and I'll be rejected, so I better not try." Over time, these negative thoughts become your perception, and you begin to experience your fear symptoms as part of your personality. Therefore, it is essential to fight the negative thoughts that come to you by being consciously positive - encouraging yourself to imagine future interactions and scenarios with positive outcomes instead of horrible ones. It takes time, but it is quite possible to train your brain to think positively.
Stop satisfying everyone around you. With the fear of rejection and social anxiety comes the need to please everyone around you. When you are so focused on not being rejected by others, you modify your behavior to please them, often at any cost. Sometimes the price is your happiness, which further reduces your value to yourself. Do not say "yes" to things you really do not want to do - people who are worth being a part of your life will not be upset if you ever say "no" to them.
Clear up with your past. You have likely had your fear of rejection since childhood. Think about it, maybe they chose you to last for sports activities? Have your parents constantly compared you to others? While these things may seem trivial to you right now, the traces they may have leftover the years may be the reason for your fear of rejection. Clearing up the event or events that contributed to your fear of rejection, even if they were many years ago, can be a very positive and healing experience.
Release. The fear of rejection compromises so many parts of your life because you always try to "play safe" to avoid mistakes. You will never allow yourself to do the things you really want to do, whether it is a meeting with someone you like or a job that will really make you happy. Rejection will indeed happen to you sometime in life, but you need to accept it as a life experience - an experience that is not as bad as it represents your fear and an experience that does not define who you are.
Once you start accepting reality and not being afraid of imagined facts, you become a more complimentary person with a much more fulfilled life.
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