I have always struggled with the fear of rejection. It’s one reason why I never pursued my freelance writing career even after being published in a magazine. I noticed my son recently struggling with rejection. I hate that for him, but I can’t protect him from rejection. Rejection is a growth process, not the end!
My fourteen year old loves mysteries. We are currently watching a lot of Agatha Christie movies. Did you know her work was rejected? Many popular novels were rejected more than once! Lord of the Flies, Gone with the Wind, The Diary of Anne Frank, Anne of Green Gables, Harry Potter, A Wrinkle in Time, Animal Farm, etc. etc. What about the books that were published but then later found themselves on the “banned book list”? The Giver, To Kill a Mockingbird, White Fang, Tom Sawyer, etc. etc. Rejected.
How many athletes were rejected? Never chosen or picked to play? Yet these steadfast humans came back to do amazing things! The Kurt Warner story was recently turned into an aspiring movie.
Rejection is not a bad word
I think we tend to envy and focus so much on success that we completely forget to look at hardships. One hit wonders are amazing, but not the norm. If viewed through a helpful leans, it’s opportunity for evaluation & growth. We should be teaching the valuable lesson of rejection rather than trying to protect our kids completely from it. Even your personal stories matter. Both my husband and I tried out for sports in high school to not make our teams. Which drove both of us to work harder and make it on teams the following year.
We try to focus on the positive, the good things we’ve done in the past, and dwell on truth. Rather than slide down the slippery slope of “I’ll never be good enough”, we remember past wins. Past lead roles. Past success. If it happened before it can happen again!!
We’ve all heard the “whatevers” of Philippians 4:8 – but neglect what that leads to – Philippians 4:9.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Peace follows the focusing on the truth, the right – not the current rejection.
There is no peace when we dwell in rejection.
Rejection can be a powerful driving force. In hopes of sharing rejection stories, while also learning about great literature and people from the past, we are studying authors. I’ve created Author Biography Pages.
So far we’ve discovered a great deal about the writing process, skills and events that have lead to great stories, and how to keep pushing through rejection. Help your teen recognize rejection is a process not the end. Study the lives of athletes, authors, actors, singers, and famous people who turned their rejection into success.