Navigating Rejection Sensitivity as a Business Owner
Introduction
This is an excerpt from Delightful Sites — a weekly email series helping therapists, coaches, and entrepreneurs build sustainable, values-aligned businesses, through the power of website marketing. 💐
There are so many skills required to run a business, like:
⚙️ executive functioning skills – answering emails, scheduling appointments, managing time/capacity, juggling different priorities
👋🏽 people skills – interacting with clients & colleagues, communicating clearly, engaging in relationships across time
And one of the most underrated business skills?
The capacity to tolerate rejection.
If you experience rejection sensitivity, like me (and like many other sensitive & neurodivergent entrepreneurs out there) – then you might feel some type of way when…
>> Someone unsubscribes from your email list.
>> Someone unfollows you on Instagram.
>> Someone leaves a nasty comment on Facebook (ugh).
>> A prospective client doesn’t respond to your follow-up email.
>> A prospective client ghosts the initial consult.
You are definitely not alone if these experiences have happened across the course of your business, and if these experiences sting a little – or a lot. ❤️🩹
It can be hard to not take these things personally. Maybe you wonder, did I do something wrong? Should I hide under a rock & disappear forever?
I can certainly relate to all of the above, so I want to share a mindset shift that has helped me navigate these experiences of perceived rejection.
👉🏽 Every unsubscribe or unfollow is NOT a rejection of who you are, but rather a piece of information that tells you: someone in your audience has decided to redirect their attention to something else, because their interests, needs, or priorities have shifted.
Again, this is not a reflection of your worth or value. It’s more like watching a tree shed leaves in the fall. The “pruning” of an email list or social media following is actually a natural & healthy phenomenon.
👉🏽 Every no, and every meeting where someone doesn’t show up, is an opportunity for you to redirect your energy. It is information about where your attention is needed, and where it is not necessary right now.
If I fixated on every single time someone has said “no” to working with me, then I would have less energy to pour into the sessions, projects, & collaborations that DO need my care & attention.
☝🏽 Does that all make sense?
How does this mindset shift (“rejection” = redirection) feel for you?
For me, it’s made the difference between feeling bad about myself (& then getting in my own way), vs. trusting the process & moving toward my goals with purpose.
Remember: your work matters, and you are valuable no matter what.
Yours,
Liz
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