08 Feb Don’t Take It Personally by Beverly Lewis

Rejection. Nobody escapes it and no matter how you coat it, it’s no fun.  Fact is, the greater your influence, the more often you’ll face rejection and criticism.  ”Don’t take it personally,” they say. Yeah, right. Easier said than done.

Without developing a hard heart (who wants one of those?!), how do you handle it? Particularly when it comes to “new business development” – the code word for “selling.”

Rejection affects us in proportion to the amount of emotional investment we’ve made.  So the key in business is having so much going on that you are not devastated when your proposal is rejected, or  you are passed over  in no uncertain terms.  The law of averages defines that you will get more nos than yeses, particularly when you are on the front end of the learning curve. It sometimes takes a will of steel to press through and keep putting yourself out there.

I offer 3 tips on handling rejection with style and grace:

1. Ask yourself, “Is there a lesson in this? What can I learn here?”  There’s nothing like rejection to make you take inventory of yourself.

2. Don’t dwell on it. After step 1, move on!  Don’t save the email or phone message or even review the negative message in your head.  This principle will also enable you to walk in forgiveness – releasing you from the bondage of bitterness.

3. Remember that anyone who kicks you in the behind has to be behind you to do it.  Stay in front  by moving forward.   I will persist until I succeed. What about you?

Persistence is to the character of man as carbon is to steel.  -Napoleon Hill

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