Handling rejections my way
Hello there, my dear readers. I hope y’all have been fine since the last time we spoke. All’s hunky dory for me in Mumbai, apart from the fact that the city has been witnessing torrential weather for the past three days and we are still under red alert while we speak.
But yeah, that’s how things are with this city, and this is the story of every monsoon. We’ve kinda learnt to live with it, striving to protect ourselves in every possible way. They say that the spirit of Mumbai is unmatched. For sure when you get to see people literally wading and swimming through the waters to reach office… I may say a pleasant but not too pleasant sight.
Well, life’s a constant struggle, as prominent philosophers would note. (All my life, I knew Karl Marx said this, but I recently read somewhere that it wasn’t him) — So I’ll refrain from attributing to someone in particular.
So yeah, this piece is about rejection. I am sure many of you will find this relatable. The reason I talk about rejection is that it’s an inevitable part of an ambitious journey. By now, most of you would be acquainted with my tryst with success, determination, and ambition, as my blogs would highlight. Now, to start any venture, or step into anything new, would require understanding the market, as in whether or not people would be ready to buy your products, whether there is a market fit, etc. And that requires talking to people, and talking to people means facing rejection. Over and over again.
There, I said it.
I mean, how many people do you think would actually be supportive of your endeavor? If you say many, then you are mistaken. There are umpteen reasons for that, but for starters, the human mind isn’t wired, I believe, to be appreciative of anyone who tries to walk a different path, and thus there is a plethora of rejections happening along the way.
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Some people think your ideas are broad and not well formed; some would say you are being too ambitious, thereby erratic. Ultimately, they will give you umpteen reasons for your ideas not taking off!
Now, for a novice or a person just starting, this sort of reaction(s) is enough to demoralize them. They won’t possibly ever question the intent of the person or whether he is qualified to assess the person at the other end, but repeated humiliations such as the above are enough to crush his spirit.
To all those people, and me too, to a certain extent, I’d say that, please, hold on and listen to your elder sister. Yes, I have asked you to leap the past, yes, I have asked you to show up, and now I am asking for one more thing from you.
Please do not bog down and bring yourself to believe that rejection is nothing but redirection. It has taken me ages to come to terms with this fact, and now that I am here, I feel much more powerful and rejuvenated.
So, starting today, let’s make a pledge to never be deterred by rejection of any sort and keep leading as you have all this while. Cause, as I said, rejection means nothing but redirection.
Until next time. Love you all.
