Writing things down is an effective way to process emotions and understand where you might be getting stuck. I don’t care if you are a terrible writer, if your handwriting is illegible and your grammar is questionable. If you find yourself writing below your standards, lower your standards. No one else ever needs to read what you write. Set a timer for five, ten, twenty minutes — whatever feels reasonable, and free write with zero judgment.

Writing prompt:

• Write about past rejections that turned out okay. When your eighth-grade crush sat with someone else at lunch, did that end up ruining your life? When you got fired from that job, did you get another?

• If there were rejections that did have lasting consequences, can you find a way to pack them tight with compassion? Is there any way that it led you to something that was better, or offered you some knowledge or understanding you didn’t have before?

• When we feel rejected, we tend to take it personally and think that this is a permanent situation and it’s all 100% awful. Write down all the things that are still okay. Does your dog still love you? Can you still get outside for some fresh air? Can you still quote most of the lines from Office Space? Find the simplest things that can still bring joy.

This writing prompt originally appeared with the article entitled How to Handle Rejection.

About this Photo
Lisa took this photo on a trip to Los Angeles a few years ago. The Hollywood sign is usually portrayed in such a glamourous way. Something about the smog in the air gave the sign a grittier feel. If any city could claim to be the capital of rejection, it seems like Hollywood would be that city.