You assume

When you start thinking that someone is out to get you, that the decisions they are making are personal and against you, you are making a lot of self-centred assumptions in a split second.

You assume that they know of you.

You assume that they know what is good and bad for you.

You assume that they think of you when making their own decisions.

You assume that they understand the depths of your value and skills.

You assume that they prioritise your circumstances over theirs.

You assume that they care enough to actually bother.

You assume that they are the villain to your own personal script.

Of course, some of these assumptions might be on target. But even just making them, even though you do not know you are making them, consumes a lot of your energy and resources.

Assume instead that they are doing their best for themselves and for the interests they represent.

It almost never is personal. And even when it is, you are far better off assuming it is not.

A second chance

Rejection calls for reflection.

Was it the right opportunity, the right time, the right audience? What could be improved in the way my ideas, my plan, my experience is introduced? What will I do next to make sure next time I can progress towards the goal?

What rejection does not need is forcefulness – I will do it my way – and surrender – I will give up.

Rejection is a second chance.

Superpower

Can you put boundaries around what happens in a given day? Can you keep it enclosed in the specific situation, the momentary emotion, the sudden thought?

Professional setbacks don’t have to spill into your personal life. A rejection or even a big failure do not have to determine your next actions or take away from your motivation. Someone being rude does not mean that every person you will meet from there onwards will be deserving a cold stare.

What happens is in the moment. The story we build around it can stay with us for a long time.

What happens is immutable. The story we build around it can be shaped however we prefer.

It’s a superpower to reclaim.

Not a 0, not a 1

Success is never binary. And very rarely you land on a 0 or on a 1.

Most often, you find yourself somewhere in between.

Understand this to appreciate the progress you have made, as well as the path you still have ahead of you.

The road you take

If you navigate the internet in search of answers and all you get is confusion and frustration, you are not any different from most of us.

And it is not that people are mean and they don’t want to let you in their own secret.

The point is that there is no secret.

There are probably hundreds of roads to get where you are going. Some of them seem similar, some are very different, some contradict each other. Some are cryptic, some are clear, some seem to go in completely different direction but are actually the two sides of a same coin.

It’s easy to get lost on roads that others have built for themselves.

That’s when you understand that the only road that matters is the one you choose to take. Every day.