Rejection is a part of dating, and it can be painful. There’s nothing that can break your spirit like being told no. You have your heart set on someone, and they stop on it in the most careless way possible.
How do you handle rejection without becoming an absolute jerk or having a meltdown? That’s what we’re going to talk about here. It’s easy to get angry and call someone every name in the book if they turn you down. You don’t want to be that person because it will cause lasting damage to you and the person who you’re dealing with.
Being rejected is something that happens to everyone, hopefully, the skills you learn here will enable you to exit the situation gracefully and won’t leave your soul covered in scars.
Understand Its Impact
The impact that rejection has is something that you can’t fully grasp until you’ve experienced it. Imagine trying to explain what cotton candy tastes like to someone who has never tasted anything sweet before. You’re left with the same situation as trying to describe the feeling of rejection to someone who has never been through it.
You are going to face many forms of rejection in your life. You, at some point, will want a raise, and your boss will say no. You could try to buy a car at a lesser price, and the seller refuses to budge on their price.
All those types of rejection seem petty compared to being rejected in the dating scene. Being rejected by someone you’re trying to date makes you feel like you’re less of a person. It is almost as if the person is laughing at you, even if you don’t even see a smile.
The impact of rejection can leave you reeling. Being rejected can cause you to go into severe depression and make you question your self-worth. Some of you will think that such reactions are extreme, but for some people, that’s how they digest rejection.
Cultivate a Positive Mindset
The way you deal with rejection is to prepare yourself for whatever comes your way in life. That might sound overly simplistic, but it’s true. You need to be a well-rounded person to handle everything tossed in your direction, rejection is one of those things.
You cultivate a positive mindset by focusing on your mental health. You should never push yourself to one extreme or the other. Don’t live for the dopamine rush because the price you pay for it is way too high. Instead, you should balance out everything in your life so that you’re ready to tackle whatever comes your way head-on.
By maintaining a positive attitude, you’ll be able to handle rejection and everything else that comes your way. Mental health is all about balance, and the second you become unbalanced, things become dangerous.
If you feel a negative thought coming on, push it aside and move on with your life. It sounds impossible at first, but if you’re willing to put forth the effort to train your mind, you can put those negative thoughts on the back burner the moment they arise.
Manage and Release Negative Emotions
1. Journaling
It’s surprising how little journaling people do these days. Sometimes it’s good to put pen to paper and jot down your feelings. Of course, you don’t need to go the old-school route and write everything by hand. You can type it out on your computer or mobile device. The point is you need to get out how you’re feeling because doing so makes you feel better.
2. Positive Visualization
If you can imagine it, it’s going to happen. Well, not so easily, of course, but it’s true that if you can picture it in your mind’s eye, you can achieve it.
The thing you’re trying to do here is create a positive outlook on life. Always know that how you think is how you feel, and there are no two ways around it. So, stay positive and ensure that your thoughts are well-centered and focused on where they need to be.
3. Physical Exercise
These days it seems the only exercise people get is lifting a cheeseburger to their mouth. You can’t be one of those people. Exercise is one of the most important aspects of maintaining a healthy mind.
When you exercise, your body releases chemicals and hormones that affect how you think and feel. You don’t need to hit the gym, however, you must walk outside daily. It doesn’t matter if you walk up one side of the street and down the other, you need to get one foot moving in front of the other.
4. Artistic Expression
Expressing yourself artistically can do wonders for your mental health. You don’t need to be the next Picasso, you only need to enjoy what you’re doing. It doesn’t matter if it’s stick drawings, doodles, or paintings; the point is to get your mind working.
A coloring book with crayons can be a great boon to your mental health. The importance of expressing yourself artistically is so essential, and it’s often overlooked. Belt out a song, do a dance, or do whatever it takes to get those creative juices flowing so you can clear out the cobwebs in your mind.
5. Professional Help
Get help. Seriously. If you’re engulfed with negative emotions, get yourself some help immediately. We’re talking about visiting a therapist here and letting them know what’s happening. If you don’t take this step now, eventually, you’ll find the negative emotions so strong that they rule your life.
All these are things you can do to get yourself on the right track. Something like getting professional help will take more effort, but it’s worth it in the end. At the very least, go outside and walk around a little. You’ll be shocked when you discover just how beneficial going for a walk can be for your mood.
Reframe Rejection as an Opportunity for Growth
Every failure gives you an opportunity for personal growth. How? After all, aren’t you going to be bummed out for weeks, months, or maybe even years after the rejection. If you allow yourself to wallow in anything long enough, it can take that long. If that happens, failure is the only option for you at that point.
Rejection is an opportunity to take a step back and ask yourself why you were rejected. If we’re talking about the dating scene, it’s far more complex than why you were rejected from getting the job promotion.
Sometimes you meet someone, and they’re at the wrong time in their lives to go out on a date with you. Maybe they just got out of a bad relationship or just moved into a new city and need time to find their way. It may be a tough pill to swallow, but they may just not be into you, and if that’s the case, rejection is the best thing that could’ve ever happened to you.
If we’re talking about rejection from a job, you need to ask yourself why you were rejected. Do you not have the qualifications? You should ask why you were rejected so that you can learn how to improve yourself. There’s nothing wrong with asking your boss or whoever rejected you why they did it.
Conclusion
Rejection is natural, and it’s something that you have to learn how to deal with. It’s not easy, and it will make you feel awful. You’ll get angry, wonder what you did wrong, and sometimes, realize that you did nothing wrong at all.
People are unpredictable creatures, and knowing why you were rejected is hard. Sometimes the best you can hope for is that the person isn’t too big of a jerk when they break the news to you.
The way you prepare yourself for rejection is to take care of your mental needs. You fill your life with positive thinking and ensure that everything around you has a positive vibe. You put mental health first and foremost in your life so that you can process what’s going on around you.
The minute negative emotions get involved, you need to make a change. Getting more exercise, eating better, and reviewing your mental health, in general, are a must during these times. If you allow yourself to go down the path of beating yourself up over the rejection, you’ll become emotionally scarred.
Listen, no one likes rejection. Though, rejection is good for you. If used properly, rejection will help you form the mindset that will make dealing with other situations later on in your life possible. How you deal with your problems today will significantly impact how you cope with them in the years to come.
