Coping with rejection

Written by Adriana Watson, Editorial Writer

Although rejection may seem catastrophic in the moment, it’s something that is fairly easy to overcome. Unfortunately, the most effective cure for rejection is being rejected. The theory being that by forcing ourselves to seek out rejection, we will be able to numb ourselves from its effect As a result, one is better able to cope with rejection in a more stable manner.

This idea was tested by Jia Jiang, a young author who found himself in constant fear of rejection. Jiang chose to face his fear of rejection by facing it head on for 100 days in a row. Every day he chose to ask something of strangers that he would never expect to receive: $100 from a security guard, taking a nap at a mattress store, or even asking Krispy Kreme to make the Olympic rings out of donuts.

By facing rejection head on, we are able to see that rejection is nothing more than a part of life. It’s something that we all have experienced, even from the people who reject us. But it’s not just about getting a no. What we really learn from seeking out rejection is how often people are willing to say yes.

The side effects of rejection are purely mental phenomenons. Once you accept this, it’s easy to see that for every no are a hundred more yes’s. So go ahead and get rejected. If you don’t get a Dairy Queen employee to put every single kind of flurry in one cup, that at least you’ll be more prepared to deal with it when it truly matters.