Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.
– Charles R. Swindoll
Are you generally more fearful or fearless?
We all have our good days and bad days.
It’s got to be partly innate, a trait present from birth. Some people were born fearless. Others have to work hard to build their courage.
When it comes to rejection, fearing it is more universal. Really, who loves rejection!?
Get rejected consecutive times and even the most fearless warrior can feel the slump and have to shake off the funk.
Why face rejection at all? Often, it’s easier not to try.
DISCOMFORT
We know it’s easier to limit yourself to doing what’s comfortable. Staying in your lane feels good.
Think back to a real breakthrough or high achievement in your life. I’ll bet it required truly pushing yourself beyond what you thought was possible.
Growth most often takes place outside of your comfort zone.
Welcoming discomfort is easier said than done.
We need to develop a habit to get there.
TRAIN
Last week, I spoke at the Interview Mastery Summit where my session was, “Getting to Yes: Book Bigger Guests, Get Booked On Bigger Shows.”
In it, I touched on the mindset for booking bigger guests and getting booked on bigger shows.
Here’s a challenge for you. Commit to getting rejected 100 times this year. That’s 25 “no’s” per quarter.
It’s harder to do than you think. When you pitch, a nonresponse does not count. You must get a “no” reply.
Celebrating rejection will shift your mindset. Each time will still be disappointing, but you’ll quickly celebrate and move on. Ultimately, this gamification will encourage you to pitch more often and reach higher.
Don’t just take my word for it.
For background, this idea was inspired by Jia Jiang who sought out rejection for 100 days. He’s an expert!
If you haven’t watched his TEDTalk, it’s 15 minutes well spent.
Out of his video blog came the book, “Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection.”
Here are three highlights from Jia.
IN THE PROCESS OF MY REJECTION JOURNEY, HERE IS WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT REJECTION:
- Rejection is a muscle. If you don’t constantly work outside your comfort zone, you’ll lose it and you’ll become weak and timid.
- Rejection is a numbers game. Fight through enough no’s and you will eventually find a yes.
- Avoiding rejection is worse than receiving it. Most people believe avoiding rejection is a good thing, by avoiding something bad we’ve dodged a bullet and we are somehow net positive, but that’s not true. When we shy away from rejection we reject ourselves and our ideas before the world ever has a chance to reject them. This is the worst form of rejection and as a result, we are ignored by the world.
Let this be your new goal. Put yourself out there.
Where three rejections may add up to a slump, one hundred rejections will desensitize you to the fear.
Build that muscle!
Whether you apply this practice to your podcast, job, or other parts of your life, the magic lies in that you can never forecast where the “yeses” will come from.
So ask often and ask big!
Want to join me trying to get rejected 100 times?
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