After a tough “no,” most people retreat. They replay the moment. They question their value.
But here’s the part we rarely talk about:
Rejection doesn’t end the story. It just pauses the voice telling it.
A colleague once shared her ritual after a difficult rejection.
She said she takes 15 minutes to feel the sting—fully.
Then she asks herself one question:
“What story am I telling myself about this?”
The first answers are usually emotional:
“They didn’t like me.”
“I’m not good enough.”
“Maybe I should stop trying.”
But when she breathes past those feelings, she uncovers a deeper truth:
The rejection wasn’t a reason to shrink.
It was a quiet call to refine her message, strengthen her clarity, or shift her approach.
And then—she asks again. Not the same question to the same person, but the same dream to the world.
Because courage isn’t loud. It’s consistent.
That’s the beauty of reclaiming your narrative:
You learn that asking again doesn’t mean you were wrong the first time.
It means you’re wiser the second time.
The takeaway: Rejection doesn’t write your story—your willingness to ask again does. Every renewed attempt is a chapter that didn’t exist before your courage created it.
