Rejection

(Audio book version here)
There is only one certain thing about being a hero: rejection. In fact, heroes have most rejections in life. That's what makes them thick, genuine and profound.

Nobody wants to be rejected. That's for sure. But why do we fear rejection so much?

My mother, brother and sister celebrated their birthday together, Dec. 19. It was a grand day for the family. Friends and relatives came. We're 7 in the family. Everybody received gifts, even my brothers and sister who were not celebrating their birthdays... except me. That's 25 years ago but the scene and the look in the eyes of the people during that day are still fresh in my mind.


It was the day when I decided I was different.
It was the day when I told myself, "I will not allow these people to hurt me anymore."
It was the day when I stopped begging for attention.
It was the day when  I began to stop being somebody else.

We fear rejection because we are afraid of change.
We fear rejection because we're afraid of being ejected from our comfort zone.
We fear rejection because we’re afraid to find out we’re different.

Remember your first major rejection: your mother had to eject you out into this world. Rejection is a precursor to a re-birth. It was painful not only for you, but more so for your mother.

Rejection is not about you, it's about the process of changing you. The world does not hate you. It's the universe, it’s forces and its creatures conniving in giving birth to a new you...
Believe me, it's nothing personal...

photo: Heroes | Audio book version Rejection