Rejectamundo…

Posted by Tisha Tolar on January 28, 2008

Rejection – it’s such a suck word. Everyone gets rejected. It starts when we are young.

SON: “Mommy, can I have a cookie?”

MOMMY: “Nope. Not before dinner.” REJECTED!

Then it continues on to the teenage years.

GIRL: “Bobby, will you dance with Mary?” BOY: “No.” REJECTED!

And it continues into adulthood.

HUSBAND: ” How about a little lovin’ tonight, honey.” WIFE: “Are you crazy? Hell no! I’m tired.” REJECTED!

Rejection is a part of life. Sure it sucks but it has it’s benefits too. I began enjoying rejection early in my life as a writer. I started shopping my first fiction novel around the country a little over two years ago. At first, my hopes were high. The “what if” scenario played repeatedly in my mind, not unlike the anticipation of knowing your going to win the lottery. Deep down we know we don’t stand a chance in heck of winning, but there is still that undeniable optimism. I sent out my first round of letters and when the first one came back to me, I was beside myself. Shaking with anticipation, I opened it to find…REJECTION. It wasn’t even a pretty rejection. No fancy, colored letter head. It was simply a form letter that started out “Dear Writer”. While I was disappointed, the reality of what those two words meant changed my entire way of thinking. When the next batch of response letters came back – some said “Dear Author”. Some were even personally written to me! I was beginning to understand that what I was trying to accomplish was an accomplishment in itself. I WAS a writer. It wasn’t just me calling myself a writer.

I have since accrued a nice stack of rejection letters. But with every one came a new motivation to keep trying. A new determination to hold and made me bolder than I thought was possible. If it wasn’t for that rejection, that indirect empowerment, I would not be writing this blog today. There would be no empowering mom without that rejection for I would not feel empowered. Crazy, huh?

My point is – you don’t know what you are capable of until you try. I have far exceeded my own expectations I set more than a year ago when I started out on my own. I have no intention of backing down either. What a great feeling! If you’re scared to try what you’ve always wanted to try or do what you’ve always wanted to do because you will be rejected, maybe you will reconsider now that you know rejection can be one of the greatest motivators. Rejection does not have to be a negative. It’s all about how your perspective. Make it a postive!

Don’t forget to sign up for the Bingo Records Giveaway….

Happy Monday!