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As I write this, I imagine you reading this and thinking “How do you know how to deal with DCP rejection?” While I did get accepted to the DCP (and on my first try), I know plenty about coping with rejection. Being a performer, I have definitely been on the receiving end of rejection. I have my own methods for coping, honed over years of failed auditions and other opportunities missed.
I’m not telling you this is the only way to cope with rejection, but these are some of the tools I find helpful. Feel free to try some, all or none of them. And of course, if you have your own coping tools, I’d love to hear about them in the comments!
Coping with REJECTION
#1- FEEL THE FEELINGS!!!
Sometimes we just want to shove things down and try to move on quickly. But it’s really a lot healthier and more helpful to actually feel things. It’s ok to be disappointed. It’s even okay to be angry. My sub suggestion on this is to
#1a- Have a Venting Buddy
Your Venting Buddy should be someone you’re close to. Find someone who will let you word vomit your feelings for about 20 minutes (tops) and then talk you down off the ledge. Your Venting Buddy will help you feel your frustrations and then help you move on.
#2- TREAT YO SELF
It doesn’t need to be anything extravagant. I mean, if you’re auditioning or job searching etc, you might be going through this cycle fairly regularly. So your treat could be a cupcake from your favorite place. Or you could get those shoes you’ve had your eye on (
Dorothy Oka-B is what I’ve got my eye on). Buy yourself some new
pens or
face mask or
running leggings.
#3- Find a New Project
Now that you’ve felt things, and treated yourself to things, you are ready to find a new project to put your energy into. Sometimes this could be moving on to the next audition, job application, interview, project, whatever. Maybe it means getting a new hobby. Maybe you should start planning a vacation for the future. Vacation planning gives you something to look forward to. And it’s something that is more in your control. Also, who doesn’t love to spend hours working on vacation spreadsheets? Oh, just me? Awkward…
#4- Learn and Grow
Sometimes we have to get a little distance from an experience before we can truly learn and grow. It’s frustrating to have to examine the experiences that make us feel the most vulnerable. But we can learn valuable things from each rejection. Maybe your resume could use some sprucing. Maybe your interviewing or audition skills need some refining. Look at things and see if you clan improve. Sometimes, it just isn’t meant to be. You can do everything right that you possibly can, and the stars just don’t align. That’s okay too. You have to learn which experiences to learn from and which ones you just move past. Which brings me to my last tip…
#5- Put the Past Behind you
Don’t carry the rejection with you. That’s not going to be helpful for anyone. It’s not going to make your next attempt any more successful if you keep carrying the baggage of your last failure. Let you past make you stronger, not weigh you down. Let it go, as the song says.
Like I said, these are just some coping mechanisms that I use when dealing with rejection. Everyone is different and something else might work better for you. I want to hear your suggestions about coping with rejection! Leave a comment below.
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