What happens when we put ourselves out there, we get feedback, and then we discover that we just missed the mark? What happens when we put a ton of effort and heart into a project and then fail to experience the return we hoped for? What happens when someone tells us no? No, to our work, no to our experience, no to a relationship, a job…or just a resounding NO about everything that defines us at the deepest level?
Not going to lie, IT SUCKS! Doesn’t feel good at all. Makes you want to curl up and retreat. Well, at least that’s what it did to me.
I recently put myself out there in a BIG way, and I was told NO. Under no circumstances, NO. Then I had two major contracts canceled. THEN I got bad news from the bank when something I was hoping for didn’t go through. REJECTION, PEOPLE! Four rejections, four days in a row, BOOM, BAM, BAM, BOOM!
Now, I could tell you I rallied right away. But that would be a lie, and I just don’t do that.
So, what DID I do? I sat around for a few days. I felt discomfort, humiliation, disappointment, grief, and sadness. It felt like my skin was crawling. I cried. I went into my body and found the places where the vibrations were and just sat with them, breathing into them, describing them down to every detail. Then…I released them. I held myself, repeated loving self-talk, reassured myself that it was ok to be sad and disappointed. And it was only then that is occurred to me that I had put myself out there in a way I had never done before. It occurred to me that these opportunities were a way for me to grow.
If you get all you want right away, without failure, you run the risk of becoming entitled. It takes failure to grow grit, strength, endurance, and to push yourself to think outside the box, to try again, or to build a completely new plan that may actually turn out even better!
TODAY is a new day! Today I get to decide who I want to be and how I show up…for myself and for everyone I care for. A few NO’s aren’t going to stop me from serving the world. Because the truth is I help people. I help build a better world. So THAT is what I’m going to go and do…TODAY.