Rejection

Nothing hurts more than rejection. Being told you are not good enough to do whatever it is you want to do sucks. There isn't any way around this. The rejection could end up being a good thing or it could lead you down the path you really should head down or everything could turn out alright, but when the rejection happens, you are going to be angry and sad and frustrated (and probably any other "negative" emotion you can think of). If you are anything like me, your logical mind will try to convince you the rejection is an opportunity, but your emotional mind will want to yell and scream and curse and throw things.

How you react is important. It's okay to get angry and frustrated and sad, but don't let your emotions completely blanket your logical mind. As with any other event, we can't allow our emotions to smother our logic...we need them both and it is often a very difficult balancing act to contain them. I know how hard it can be to think logically when you are feeling frustrated, angry or sad, but you have to try. Rejection has to be seen as another challenge...another path...a change in the fabric of your reality. So, be angry, be sad, be frustrated, but get over it quickly. You can't let the rejections of life control you.

Rejection says as much (if not more) about the rejector than it says about you. Often times, you will be rejected out of fear. As humans, we have been programmed to not take risks, to not stand out, to not do anything that may not work. While this may keep people from making as many mistakes, it will also keep them from having great success. Don't allow other people's fear control who and what you do. Other people do things they think are right, in the same way you do things you think are right. The difficulty comes in realizing there isn't one right. The reasoning behind what you do is just as important as what you are doing.

There are going to be times when you are told you are not good enough. You are going to be rejected. You are going to get angry. You are going to be sad. You are going to be frustrated. You may scream. You may break some things. You may cry. It's okay. A big part of you is going to want to prove them wrong...but many times you can't. You are going to have to stand up, dust yourself off and move forward. One rejection, one door shutting, one change in the plan isn't going to change who you are. It doesn't make you someone else. Use this rejection as a chance to grow and learn and do something different. Succeed despite people's fears (even if this success will "prove" they were right in their rejection).

Everything that happens to you throughout life, good or bad, is an opportunity. There are always going to be people who make bad decisions and think they are good. There are always going to be people who are afraid to take risks. There are always going to be people who don't understand you. There are always going to be people who want you to be someone else. There are always going to be people who just don't get it. There are always going to people who reject you. Don't let any of it stop you from being you.

Rejection is just another obstacle along your path. Don't let it keep you from doing great things.

 

Eyes To The Front

Every morning, we need to wake up, take a deep breath and start again. Learn from yesterday, but don't relive it. You have the ability to forgive yourself for the things you did in the past. There is no point in dwelling on them, move on. Each day is an opportunity to help create a new and better world, but we can't do it if we are constantly living in the past.

This life flies by quickly. I know I would rather live each day looking forward instead of thinking about what could have been or how I messed something up in the past. You can only look one way at a time...if you are looking back at what you have done, there is no way you can focus on the future. We can't change the past, but we do have some control over what is to come. Focus on what can be, not what was.

We need to extend these thoughts to the people around us, too. Don't hold grudges and remain angry for what someone did in the past. If you keep them in your life, forgive them and move on. Even if the person is no longer in your life because of what they did, forget about it. Dwelling on the past only stops you from pushing towards the future as much as you want.

Life is going to be difficult, but it is a little easier when you focus on what is to come, instead of what has happened. Each day is a fresh start...take a deep breath and keep pushing forward.

What Will You Learn Today?

Life is about learning. Each day, we should all strive to learn something new. Every interaction we have is an opportunity to share and gain knowledge, but we have to keep an open mind. By setting aside our ego, we open ourselves to the realization that everyone, no matter how different, has some knowledge we don't.

In this age of technology, we have opportunity at our fingertips. With the Internet, we can do things our ancestors were never able to do. We can have immediate conversations with people we will never meet. Through websites like Duolingo, we can learn foreign languages in ways that our convenient for us. With the proliferation of blogs, we have the ability to learn from an assortment of amazing people. Major universities are putting many of their courses out there for anyone to take. The amount of knowledge we have access to is astounding.

Even with all of this, we can still learn much from the people we meet each day if we set aside our judgments. It is impossible to learn from someone if we go in to each interaction with preconceived notions about who they are or what they know. We can't label people and expect to learn anything from them. You never know what these people know or what experiences they may have. The barista in your coffee shop may have a Ph.D. in physics. The man playing the violin at your subway station may be a virtuoso playing on a multimillion dollar violin. You just never know who you are going to meet or what knowledge they can impart.

A hunger for knowledge allows us to grow. Trying to learn something new can also be scary. We are not going to be good at everything we try, but with practice, we can get better. I will never learn Spanish unless I try. You will never have your beliefs challenged unless you open yourself to new ideas and new ways of doing things. If we choose to keep our minds closed and to believe other people have nothing to teach us, we stagnate. We will not grow. We will not learn. We will not get any closer to the truth. What will you learn today?

A New Day

This morning dawns a new day. What happened yesterday can not be changed and what comes tomorrow can not be known. Today is the only day you have to leave your mark on this world. Today is the only day you have to do what you need to do. Today is the only day that matters.

We spend so much time running around planning for tomorrow or dwelling on yesterday that we never really enjoy today or utilize it to our advantage. To a person, we need to slow down and enjoy the times we have. We can't change the past and we have little control over the future. The only thing we can control is what we do right now, with the time we have.

I am as guilty as anyone with this. My mind constantly reminds me of the stupid things I have done in the past (and there are a lot of them). I constantly think about the future and what I am going to be doing next week and next month and next year. I spend so much time thinking about these two things, I often miss out on the wonderful opportunities right now. I rush through my day and spend too little time taking in and enjoying the moment.

We are surrounded by beautiful settings and amazing people, if we just take a second to look. Breathe it in and enjoy this moment. Slow down and take things as they come. Stop worrying about the past and the future and allow yourself to be in the present. Continue to dream, but don't fret over what you need to do tomorrow...embrace what you can do today.

Each life is made up of a series of moments. These moments matter. We don't know which moment is going to be pivotal and we should treat every moment as if it could be. We can't connect the dots of our life looking forward...the path we take only becomes visible as we look back. A chance encounter or a missed connection or a dreaded meeting could very well lead to a new direction in life. Don't walk by the door of opportunity because you are worried about the past or fantasizing about the future.

Each morning dawns a new day and a new chance. Today is the most important day of your life. What are you going to do with it?