I Can Survive Rejection
I know when to hold 'em, I'm learning to to fold 'em. | 10-Day Affirmation Challenge Day #9
On this penultimate day of my 10-Day Affirmation Challenge, I’m reflecting to see if this whole affirmation experiment is even working.
One of the main reasons I started practicing affirmations is to challenge the negative inner dialogue that pushes me toward codependency and people pleasing. I too often get my validation externally, I need other people to approve of me and I often assume they actually think the worst of me, which dictates both my mood and my behavior. My greatest fear (besides birds) is that people won’t like me or they won’t approve of me.
The most important thing I’ve learned over the last few days is that it is very possible for me to make myself feel good. I can validate myself and this also has an impact on my mood and behavior. I’m heading into this new week feeling capable and kind of proud of myself? A very strange turn of events…
And because I’ve feeling more confident and strong, I’ve discovered something very new yet very remarkable about myself:
I don’t need other people to like me. I can survive rejection.
I am someone who has a habit of taking any form of rejection, dismissal, or indifference as an incentive to try harder, to make myself more available, to betray myself for the love and affection of others, even if that love and affection is minimal.
Now, I’m a big proponent of trying hard. I believe in putting in the effort, putting in the work especially if you think the outcome is worth it. But sometimes you gotta know when something isn't working and when to walk away. You gotta learn to be okay with sunk cost or lost causes. You gotta know when to quit.
And now I know that I can quit. I can quit people pleasing, I can quit taking things personally, I can quit feeling guilty or pressured to prove my worth because I know I will be A-okay if someone doesn’t like me.
Rejection is not an invitation to try harder for someone’s approval nor is it a reason to be mean to yourself or beat yourself up. Whether you’re looking for a job or a mate, learn to accept the No and say Yes to yourself. Because you still have worth.
I’m learning to embrace rejection as redirection and take a confident step forward in that direction knowing that I will be okay no matter what. Because I got my own back.
This journal entry was written for DAY 9 of the Finding the Right Words September Affirmation Challenge. Follow Finding The Right Words on Instagram for more prompts and affirmations. Write your own journal entry and share it with me!
There’s no wrong way to journal. You just gotta find the right words. Happy Writing!
Thank you for sharing your insights about your 10 day affirmation challenge. Your struggles are similar to mine. I tend to retreat when I feel rejected and overlooked and that saddens me. I started writing love letters to myself earlier this year and I feel as if it was helping to brighten up my inner dialogue. However, after some rejection that I was hopeful would turn out well, I stopped writing my love letters. But that means I allowed those experiences around rejection to win. Your challenge has inspired me to get back in the saddle and start writing those self-love letters again! Thank you for sharing your journey 🌻🌻🌻