Relationships

How Rejection Can Actually Help You

When I was very young (6 years old), I was fearless! I had not experienced rejection yet. Sometime after I turned 7, I was slapped in the face by rejection for the first time. This is how it went, I asked this girl I really liked if she wanted to get our cats together to play sometime (corny I know but give me a break I was 7!).



She replied back with a simple “ya, maybe”. It was said in a snarky tone that was obvious to me even back then that she didn’t actually want to do it. The hurt of this realization was so bad that I wouldn’t even consider asking a girl out again until junior year of high school. It was the first time I had to deal with a girl who plainly thought she was out of my league. To be honest she was out of my league.

How Rejection Can Actually Help You


She was arguably the hottest girl in second grade and I was one of the least attractive boys. I was overweight and obnoxious (the class clown). I tried so hard to be funny and cool and got kicked out of class often as a result. I had a short list of friends who thought I was hilarious. We would hang out often and I had an active social life with them.



By the time I reached the fifth grade (10 years old) I was slapped in the face again by another realization. This realization came after hearing an emotional retort by one of my schools admins. I was sitting on the bench right outside of the principles office crying and crying because I had been sent to the principles office yet again. Annoyed by my persistent sobbing the admin addressed me and said “(My name), you should just shut up and take your punishment, you are an annoying spoiled brat and you will never make anything of yourself anyways!”.


How Rejection Can Actually Help You

In the following weeks I came to the realization that I wanted to be successful in life. I knew that if I wanted to be successful, I would have to start taking school seriously. I dedicated myself to school for the rest of my lower and middle school career and by the time I reached high school I was amongst the top of my class. I graduated high school with a 3.82 GPA. I went to a university within the top 15% of schools nationally (in the USA) and I lined up a well paying job with lots of opportunity to grow, about a month before graduation. With my 3.34 GPA I also have the opportunity to go to a solid grad school to further my job prospects. I am also the part owner of a start up company that I am a consultant for part time.



During my time in college I also dedicated myself to getting fit. I have run a half marathon with a goal of running my first full marathon by the end of this summer.

After going through college I have realized how happy I am with the choices I have made, dedicating most of my time to the improvement of myself instead of trying to make friends who were a bad influence. I learned how to have fun in moderation, working hard all weak, so I can play hard on the weekends.



Please comment with any rejection stories of your own! Remember you can make rejection a positive thing by allowing it to fuel your passion to succeed!

How Rejection Can Actually Help You
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