Fear of rejection is a default condition for most people. Nobody likes to hear “no,” but sometimes “no” is the best doorway to a productive conversation. For some, rejection is so painful that even the smallest “no” is enough to send them scrambling from many viable opportunities.
Jia Jiang had an acute fear of rejection, and he set out to do something about it. His experiment was “100 Days of Rejection,” and he set out looking for rejection every day in order to inure himself to the experience and learn along the way. His TEDxMtHood talk, “What I learned from 100 days of rejection” is an entertaining, inspiring account of his journey.
Overcoming rejection is not about learning how to “sell hard.” It’s about ways to embrace vulnerability and build trust. It’s about recognizing that rejection can redirect you towards alternatives or even better situations.
Take 15-minutes today to watch (or read) Jia Jiang’s talk and reflect on your own appetite for rejection:
https://www.ted.com/talks/jia_jiang_what_i_learned_from_100_days_of_rejection
