Today I read an article on Psychology Today by Dr. Jill P. Weber that talks about how we sometimes emphasize negative experiences and down play positive ones. Its called “negativity bias. I know that I am guilty of getting caught up in negativity bias sometimes.
Some really awesome things transpired for me these past couple of weeks. I got the new Mindful + Melanated website up and running, I got a new car, and I got chosen to be part of a pitch competition. You would think that I would feel like I am on top of the world. The truth is I feel like crap. Why? Because I was rejected by someone that I deeply care for. That one negative thing that happened to me this week made all these really awesome things null and void.
I want to be able to enjoy my accomplishments, so I reached out for help. I asked a bunch of people how they handle rejection. I was told things like:
- People have the right to say no
- Usually when someone rejects you its not personal
- Don’t think of it as rejection – think of it as another person being kind enough not to waste your time
- Rejection is a blessing – it leaves you open for what is meant to be
These were just a few of the responses that I got, but they were my favorite.
So how do you handle rejection? Are you guilty of dwelling on negativity while downplaying the positive?
Let’s get the discussion on and poppin’!
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