This boston.com recent article (or, republished article) on the "college rejection letter" got me thinking how important it is to actually get those rejection letters. (Hat tip to @KylePaice for tweeting out the article.)
If you don't get rejected, you haven't aimed high enough.
@Chefmattrock recently (re)tweeted, in regards to ideas or companies, that if legal doesn't reject your first idea, you're not trying hard enough. It's very true. You should always be aiming higher and crazier than anyone would believe to be reasonable. If you don't, you'll always be settling for something unremarkable and not challenging.
Rejection beats out fear.
Not only should you be going for big crazy ideas, but it's important to have that rejection experience. If you're constantly playing it safe, you will continue to play it safe. You will develop a greater fear of rejection over time because it is such an unknown entity to you. When I was learning to roller skate back in elementary school, the first thing they taught us was how to fall and how to get up after a fall. Without doing this, I would have been terrified to skate away from the wall and would not know what to do if I ever fell. Overcoming this fear was critical to be able to go on and move forward.
Rejection provides unexpected opportunities.
You may have a grand plan in your head of how things are supposed to go. I'm going to go to this college, and major in this subject, and go on to a job in this field. When something doesn't happen according to your plan, it can be rough. Especially as a high school senior, you might think that getting into your dream school is the only way you'll be able to achieve all the wonderful success you envisioned in your mind. But this experience makes you change your course. To learn how to deal with new challenges and stumble onto new opportunities. When I applied to college, I didn't get into my first choice school. Or my second. I ended up getting into a school I had barely even thought about going to, but when presented with this situation, found that it was the perfect choice for me. It was an unexpected opportunity I never would have taken had I not gotten the initial rejection.
Rejection is definitely tough. But, as my parents would say, it builds character.
Flickr photo by smemon87
