#37: Rejection Is Protection
The mantra that gets me through. Plus, a long and tasty list of recs!
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Rejection Is Protection
Happy Tuesday, LOLers.
Back to our regularly scheduled programming. Thank you for humoring my audio diaries. It was therapeutic to look back and see just how far I’ve come since my last day as a corporate bish.
Today, I want to talk about rejection…again. Recapping, in my last rejection-themed post, I talked about a fierce and mighty colleague who told me she was getting used to receiving rejection emails.
You’ll be pleased to know that she recently landed an awesome job. So…let that bolster you.
But back to rejection. Not only should you never get used to being rejected, but I’ve come to believe that rejection is a gift.
Rejection is protection. This is my mantra.
When I think back on all my professional rejections (and there are so, so many, especially in the last year!), I can see with great clarity that every time I didn’t land a job or a client, I was spared a crappy situation or made available for an even better opportunity that came along later.
When I think back on the “dream opportunity” I was interviewing for right after my layoff, I cringe. At the time, I was devastated when the company ghosted me after 4 interviews, wondering what I did wrong, how I didn’t measure up, blah, blah, blah, and shame monsters — only to discover that the whole division was cut a few months later!
And then I think about the true dream opportunities that are coming my way now and I feel genuine gratitude. If I had gotten that job, not only would I have gone through a second layoff in a few months, but I wouldn’t have been available to work on some of the projects that are really lighting me up.
Of course, it’s normal to be disappointed after a rejection. It’s OK to feel a flash of rage when you see one of those awful, automated rejection emails in your inbox. It’s OK to feel sorry for yourself, question everything, and drink massive amounts of wine. But once all the feelings pass, I guarantee that the thing you thought you wanted wasn’t actually the thing you needed. If you don’t know the reason right now, you will someday.
So, for whoever needs to hear this, repeat it with me: Rejection is Protection. There are better things on the way, baby.
Worthy Time Wasters
Here are my weekly recs to combat doom scrolling.
It’s been a minute since I shared my WTW’s, so the list is long and tasty!
📺 If you loved Fleabag (Amazon Prime), I May Destroy You (Max), and Beef (Nextflix) you are going to be obsessed with Baby Reindeer (Netflix)— and not just because it’s based on the writer/creator/main actor’s real-life stalking story. Because it will remind you that powerful, moving TV by non-famous creators can still get made in this insane media environment. You might think you know what this show is about, but to really understand what it’s about, you must get to at least the end of episode 4.
Other shows that I’m watching/watched and am currently digging:
Crime and Mystery: Palm Royale (Apple TV+), Sugar (Apple TV+), Homicide New York (Netflix), and Brandy Hellville & The Cult of Fast Fashion (Max).
Real Estate Porn: Hollywood Houselift with Jeff Lewis (Freevee) and Buying Beverly Hills (Netflix). (I never would have watched either of these if I hadn’t been sick last week, but I’m sure glad I did!)
🎥 Not my usual fair, but I’m in my Distraction Era, so I went to see Dune 2 in the movie theater and it lived up to the hype. It took me a few days to shake the Sandworm nightmares though. I streamed Argylle, which had more twists than a hairpin road. The movie nailed a difficult tone.
🎧 I’m really excited about the release of Cold Blooded: The Apollo Gym Murders. I’m biased because I helped write and produce the trailer, yes, but it just so happens to be a riveting story. As far as pods go, I also recommend Untold: The Retreat, about the dark side of meditation, and Who Trolled Amber, which explores the question: was Amber Heard the victim of an organized online trolling campaign?
📚 Grief is for People by Sloane Crosley. Let’s call it The Year of Magical Thinking lite. Dead Weight: Essays on Hunger and Harm by Emmeline Clein traces the medical and cultural histories of anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder and investigates the recent rise of orthorexia. Not a “fun” read but a riveting one nonetheless. Finally, Great & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly follows a brother and sister as they navigate queerness, multiracial Maaori-Russian identity, and the dramas big and small of their entangled, unconventional family, all while flailing their way to love. I can safely say that this one was “fun.”
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