How to Face Social Rejection

Ever felt like you don't fit in with the crowd or excluded from the group? It can be a hard thing to face when it seems like everyone is against you and no-one wants to be with or around you. Even if you aren't used to the experience, social rejection can still be something that you fear and are not wanting to experience. The main thing that people who fear social rejection have on their minds is the fear that they will look stupid and will only embarrass themselves when they get rejected.
Here are some ways in which a person can deal with social rejection.


1. Think Positively

This is much easier said than done but is a beneficial action towards yourself when you are facing rejection. Instead of seeing things in just black and white such as: 'They don't want to spend time with me as they don't like me', instead of thinking like that think in a more positive fashion, for example: 'They can't spend time with me as they most likely have other plans'. Another one is when you are rejected just think to yourself 'it is not because they dislike me or because they aren't fond of spending time with me, they were most likely having a bad day and didn't feel up to doing anything'.

I know this looks as though all you are doing is making excuses for the person who rejected you, but doing this can make a difference to your mindset and to how quickly you can deal with rejection. You don't need to force yourself into forming an almost 'alternative characteristic' when dealing with rejection by overdoing the positive reinforcement as this can cause you too dwell upon it for longer, just think positively and get over it. You will naturally be better at dealing with rejection and thinking in a more positive light with the more social interactions you have. It comes with time. 

2. Prepare for Rejection

This may at first seem counter-productive, to admit defeat before you've even started, but really you're not doing that at all. This is once again another trick of the mind that can help you deal with rejection as let's be honest it's not the most pleasant thing to have to cope with. So it's not so much admitting defeat before you've started as it is preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. 

Rejection is always a possibility and so some people like to acknowledge that by preparing for it ahead of time so when the time comes and they do face rejection, they are already in a mindset to deal with it. Of course everyone is different and so this tip may not work for you as it may only make you more anxious about the situation, in which case don't apply this, but for the the people who this does work for it is of benefit. 

3. What is Rejection

What is rejection? It is a form of exclusion where one or more individuals deny you their company. It can be defined in much more detail than that but that's the basics of it. Okay, so with that in mind, is it going to kill you...? No of course it isn't, rejection is a part of life and everyone will have to face it. Yes rejection is a horrible thing but it is not the end of the world - keep this in mind. 
I'm not trying to play down how hard rejection can be to take sometimes, but looking at it for what it really is, which is the answer of "no" basically, can help for some.

4. Keep Yourself Busy

Another way that you can deal with rejection is by keeping yourself busy. Making sure that you are doing things to keep you're mind from referring back to that scenario often helps people deal with rejection, this is as you are keeping your mind busy and so not allowing it to dwell upon those issues that you can sometimes worsen through spending too much time thinking over.

5. Did You Experience Rejection?

You may be thinking, "well if they said 'no' then of course I've experienced rejection". Well before you jump to conclusions make sure you take everything into account. Just because they have said "no" to you does not mean that they have rejected you, they may actually have a perfectly good explanation to why they are not able to do something with you. That doesn't count as a 'no' but as an unavailability to do something.
Look at it from the bigger picture, just after rejection an individual may be kicking their thoughts into overload and are over-analysing and overreacting to the situation with thoughts like: 'my social life will never be the same again!' going through their heads, but by stepping back you can often get a much better grasp upon the situation. A rejection is not the be-all and end-all of a social life. It may not have worked out if they had said yes anyway as maybe you don't actually have that much in common, or haven't hit it off like you have with other people. Don't then change how you treat this individual and start to become a hater or theirs - this is going too far, just keep the bigger picture in mind.

6. Give Yourself Credit

It's not all doom and gloom and although you may be facing rejection, at least give yourself some credit for actually having the courage to try. After all you don't know until you try and so by having the guts to do so deserves a pat on the back. You are at least trying to improve and you can only improve by trying.

7. Get Others Advice

If you are constantly being rejected no matter how many times you have tried then maybe you are displaying a certain trait that is off-putting? Don't ask on forums and places such as that, as helpful as forums are - the people on there will not have first-hand experience of you and so the advice will be limited. By asking people who know you in person and interact with you often is the much better approach to stick to.
Be warned though sometimes the truth hurts and receiving negative feedback is not always the easiest thing to take.