Don't reject yourself first

Don’t reject yourself first.

We are masters of disguise. We craft elaborate reasons why we’re not ready, not qualified, not worthy—building airtight cases against our own potential. We reject ourselves before the world even gives us a chance.

Think about all the things you didn’t even try for because you assumed the only potential outcome was failure. All the times you argued against your own worth. All the ways you’ve played small and bet on the world’s odds instead of your own.

We don’t wait for the world to tell us we’re not enough. We become our own worst critics, harshest judges, our most reliable rejectors. We talk ourselves out of opportunities because we believe rejection is inevitable, and in doing so we close the doors that were opened for us.

“If the world will reject you, so be it. If you are dumped, so be it. If you are not chosen, not selected, not seen, not honored, so be it.” - [[Brianna Wiest]]

The world may reject you, but you must never reject yourself first. Do not make rejection by your own hand your only reality. If you argue in favor of your limits, you get to keep them. If you stop trying, you stop knowing.

What if you viewed failure as a learning process? What if every single no you received was taking you closer to a yes? We’ve been taught from such a young age to think in terms of success and failure, yes and no, black and white, but what if it’s all just information? What if there exists a spectrum of experience to be explored between these extremes?

“Failure is the natural, organic process of trying for something, learning from something, and finding what fits. Once you understand this, you should try to get rejected more: What if you were five terrible first dates away from the person you spend your life with? Ten job applications away from the acceptance into your next career? Four drafts away from a final product you’re really, truly proud of? 100 no’s away from a yes? When you learn to think this way, you’re victories become inevitabilities, you’re end goals are a matter of principle. If you keep going, you will eventually arrive.” - [[Brianna Wiest]]

Embrace the shift from certainty to curiosity. Embrace the known-unknowns. Embrace proving yourself wrong. Think about your life in terms of an experiment. You’re a scientist running around with hypothesis.

You’ve been living as if your limitations were facts. What if they’re just untested theories?The question isn’t whether you’ll face rejection. The question is: will you reject yourself first, or will you let the world show you what’s actually possible?

Related notes

• Brianna Wiest’s [[LN 📘 Elizabethtown College Commencement Speech by Brianna Wiest]] (source)