There’s a clear survivorship bias in how we perceive success: we notice only those who emerged unscathed from a selection process or test, while the countless candidates who failed or were rejected—often better suited in many respects—fade into obscurity. This tendency makes “Rejection Therapy”—the deliberate practice of seeking out “no”s—a kind of built‑in fail‑fast strategy. By pushing ourselves to the brink of refusal, we accelerate both failure and insight, setting the stage for what Brené Brown calls “rising strong.”
Failure, however, serves little purpose unless we learn to rise. There are two distinct pathways to rising strong: recovery and discovery. Recovery restores our emotional equilibrium—mending the psyche, rebuilding confidence, and sharpening our resilience so we can reenter the fray with renewed determination. Discovery, by contrast, turns failure into a springboard for transformation: it may reveal an unexpected talent, passion, or calling, drawing us onto an entirely new trajectory.
Yet even discovery carries the risk of another defeat, for this is an infinite game of trial, error, and renewal (a concept popularized by Simon Sinek). No sooner do we master one arena than the next challenge appears, demanding fresh adaptations and fresh courage.
(Tongue in cheek) On a cosmic scale, one might say that God Himself endures an eternal form of Rejection Therapy—rejected by nearly every soul yet unbowed and ever‑joyous. Perhaps this divine resilience is why He remains both blissful and singular, the ultimate—and lone—survivor.
Reinvent The Self! 