Those of us with children know that the word No can at times, well most time have no meaning to our kids. Toddlers seem to ignore it with a passion and teenagers question it at every turn.
Yet somewhere along the line, adulthood kicks in and it would seem that all the Nos’ we received over the years, finally take effect and can now stop us in our tracks, even paralyze us into inactivity.
How many times have you wanted to do something, to try something new and someone told you No! You may have initially been excited by the idea, filled with passion and rearing to go. Maybe after what you thought was a brilliant presentation, a fascinating pitch, all you got was a big fat No!
The sting of rejection can be a difficult pill to swallow, it sometimes leads us to question our ability and even at times our very sense of self. Over the years I’ve had my own share of rejection, rejection even from the people I thought were willing to support me, but during this time, I have come to believe that a “No”, is not the end and when recently I read this quote which said, “I will hear No as a challenge and not the end”, I was even more convinced that it was time to look at rejection a totally different way.
1. No doesn’t mean never.
A no doesn’t have to mean never. It can simply mean not now. It can also mean, that the idea doesn’t fit the direction the person is currently heading. It doesn’t mean that you cannot try again or approach the situation from a different direction. Getting a no sometimes simply means try again later.
2. A No can make you “better”.
Sometimes a No can highlight an area in which you can improve. Maybe you need to take a class or upgrade a skill. Rejection should motivate you to look at what you do and find a way to improve. It should never make you quit.
3. A rejection of your idea is not a rejection of you!
As an entrepreneur when we ‘give birth’ to our ideas we become emotionally invested. We pin our hopes and dreams on its success and when we are told no, we can’t help but take it personally. I won’t try to tell you to “just shrug it off” for it’s not always that easy, but what I will say is that it’s quite okay to feel the sting of rejection but it’s not okay to stop believing in yourself and your ability.
I recently found a quote attributed to Tony Robins which says:
“There are no real successes without rejection. The more rejection you get, the better you are, the more you’ve learned, the closer you are to your outcome… If you can handle rejection, you’ll learn to get everything you want — Unlimited Power
Many of the Entrepreneurs that we admire today were told No too many times to mention. Read their stories and you’ll see that even today, with all of their successes they still have moments of failure and moments of rejection. However, they do not let those moments stop them from pressing on and neither should you!
About Me: My name is Katyan Roach and when I’m not writing about the joys/pains of Entrepreneurship or chatting with business owners about Relationship Marking and using Social media to build awareness and increase Sales, I’m scrolling to the ends of the internet and back. I think I might need professional help for that..lol. Let’s connect!
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Originally published at medium.com