Stanford University

In the face of rejection

Illustration by Dawn Kim

Illustration by Dawn Kim

Have you ever been told that you are not good enough or that you are not the right fit for our organisation? Whether the rejection we experience is large or small, one thing remains constant - it always hurts, and it usually hurts more than we expect it to. Facing rejection requires courage to stay focused on the bigger picture as most rejections, whether romantic, professional, and even social, are due to “fit” and circumstance.


It’s easy to stop when the world slaps you hard in the face and says, we don’t want you. It’s not what they say about you that limits you the most, its that you may believe it and start saying it to yourself. Steve Jobs said in his famous Stanford University commencement speech, "Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”


I am a person with more than one gift, I am a person with more than one talent and I am a person with more than one pursuit. There is more in you than your job, there’s more in you than what you do and it’s your duty to yourself to discover your potential and explore all of these possibilities. I encourage you to explore yourself, I encourage you to explore your world and articulate this to your audience.