How to Overcome the Fear of Rejection

Is the fear of rejection stopping you from being free to pursue what you want?

Well, it is one fear that strikes many of us. The perception of having been rejected can cut like a stab in the heart. In an instant, you can feel as if you are drained of all blood. Dizziness ensues and you hang on to dear life, gasping for air.

“There is going to be a hundred thousand doors slammed in your face before one opens, so feel ok about taking rejection.” – Heather Matarazzo

I don’t know of anyone who has the privilege of going through life without ever experiencing the fear of rejection at least once. I have certainly been rejected many times. In a few of the situations, back when I was in my early 20s, I had thought that I would not be able to survive past the rejection. With despair, I would drown my sorrow via drinking and clubbing several times a week. Fortunately, these days, I have found better ways to deal with the fear of rejection.
Many of those I have worked with had to learn better ways to deal with their fears too. Mostly these occur due to relationship conflicts. They fear being dumped by their partners. They admit to going into depression and on the verge of suicide. With tears, at least two of them confess to wearing shades while stalking their partners for a period. Unable to eat or sleep, they had found it hard to function well.

Of course, the above took place after being rejected.

So if you had been rejected previously, you are likely to have felt bruised, traumatised and hurt.

It is all in the past, no doubt.

But, you could then develop an irrational fear of rejection.

You fear being rejected once again.

Due to the past, you find it difficult to be free.

Having a fear of rejection can certainly threaten your future happiness.

The Fundamental Need Behind Fear of Rejection

The opposite of rejection is acceptance. Feeling rejected rests on our core beliefs that we are not good or worthy enough. We find it hard to accept – real or perceived – when others do not accept us. The same holds true, be it in a romantic setting or not. We are social creatures and like having a sense of belonging. As social creatures, we want acceptance. Having acceptance from the world makes us feel wanted and therefore valued.

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the third layer of human needs is love and belongingness. As humans, we experience the need to love and be loved by others. In the absence of love, we become prone to loneliness, anxiety and misery. Where the fear of rejection is strong, it can contribute to health conditions. In anorexia, for instance, the patient experiences an inability to accept his or her body as it is. There is a psychological craving for acceptance by society.

Situations Where There Could Be A Fear Of Rejection

These include:

1. Your job. Certain jobs call for a higher tolerance of rejection. If you are not able to deal with the fear of rejection, it is hard to do well in these jobs. They include doing sales, being a model, an actor or actress. You have to be thick-skinned as you are likely to be rejected with a “no” several times. As Harrison Ford once said, “Some actors couldn’t figure out how to withstand the constant rejection. They couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

2. Job interview. Where the economy is not doing well or if you are hoping for a career change, chances are you may have go through a number of interviews before you land on an offer. You would like to believe that you are perfect for a particular job but the company director doing the interview may not think the same. And it happens over and over again for each interview. So much so that your loss in confidence starts to show with each subsequent interview.

3. Getting a date. Does getting a date seem hard to you? You have been hoping to get to know that girl or guy but you are feeling nervous about asking for a date. The fear of rejection is keeping you glued to your chair.

4. Relationship. You have had bad relationship experiences previously. Even if you are now in a committed loving relationship, the past memories keep haunting you. You fear being dumped, abandoned and rejected once again. And so you develop a dependency on your current partner. You are desperate that your partner reports his or her every move to you.

5. Bullying. Peer rejection can lead to bullying cases. You become a victim and you fear being victimized. To compensate, you may be prompted to join gangs or undertake unwise behavior.

Overcome Your Fear of Rejection

“A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success.” – Bo Bennett

1. Let go of the Past

Don’t allow your past to dictate your future. Let go of the past. The past is already gone. There are lessons that you can learn from.

Believe that things can change. You don’t have to live in fear anymore. Fear is just an illusion. Don’t allow fear to hold you back from living in the present.

2. Let go of Perfectionism

Wanting to be perfect can cause you to fear rejection. We learn about the fear of rejection early on in life. We learn about being obedient, docile and pleasing so that we are able to receive approval and validation by our parents or caregivers. We are taught to fit into a particular mold to be accepted. As a result, we began to believe that we have to be perfect to be loved and accepted.

The fact is that we are already perfect even with all our imperfections. It is important to be able to realise this. Sure, there are things that you can always work on to improve yourself. But that does not mean that you need to reject yourself, even whilst you strive for excellence. Doing your best is a great goal but you do not need to be perfect to do your best. Let go of the need to be perfect.

3. Let’s Switch Roles

Let’s flip things the other way. Have you thought about how many times you have rejected others? For example, when you switch from your regular hairdresser to a new one, how would the first one feel? Wouldn’t your regular hairdresser feel rejected?

For the most part, when others do not accept you, it is not personal. Stop taking things too personally. Avoid getting too hung up about having to be accepted every single time.

4. Work on Your Beliefs

You need to believe that you are very lovable and worthy, even if you are rejected by someone. This other person is not God, so why make yourself suffer when he or she rejects you? Why give this other person so much power as to determine your happiness?

Embrace yourself whole-heartedly and without conditions. You are deserving of love and affection. And you can start with loving yourself body, mind and soul.

5. Change Your Response

Being rejected is part of life. Learn to overcome your fear of rejection. Rejection will happen. If you have heightened sensitivities to the fear of rejection, then I recommend that you do emotional release work.

Acknowledge this: People get rejected all the time for various reasons.

Learn to accept yourself completely!

It is how you respond that makes the difference.

Love and abundance always,

Author. Adventurer. Life Coach.

Share About Your Experiences

Encountered rejection or the fear of rejection previously? How did you handle it? Please share in the comments below.

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