What’s a fear you’ve overcome — and how did you do it?

Rejection was a big fear for a long time. Partners, dates, friends, jobs…..

Rejection is an awful thing. The fear of it can keep you from trying. The thing with overcoming a fear is not necessarily that you no longer have that fear, but you do not let it stop you. The fear no longer dictates the way you live your life.

Some time in high school, I decided I no longer wanted to wonder about the path not taken. I put myself out there for so many things. The worst thing that can happen is you are told no. For me being told no became preferable than having the weird dream hanging over you of you getting what you want.

I graduated during one of the bigger economic downturns in my lifetime. There were no jobs. Entry level positions were hiring people with master’s degrees and doctorates. The jobs I was supposed to finally be qualified for. When graduation was growing closer, I was applying for jobs. I applied for nearly two hundred jobs. I did not get hired until months afterward for a job that only required a high school diploma, but it was a government job with benefits.

The job I finally got was a random one that I applied to, in fact I was offered two different positions within the government at the same time. It was weird after months of nothing.

Nobody likes rejection, but allowing it to keep you from trying is a terrible way to live. One of these times when you try, it will happen. My fear of regret is stronger than my fear of rejection. That is how I pushed through a lot of things in my life. Realizing that rejection is a natural part of life and that the world does not end is an important lesson to learn.