Have You Done Anything to #BeatRejection?
- By: Jessica Faust | Date: Oct 13 2016
Just over a year ago I did the #BeatRejection Challenge. It must be something about this time of year and the change in the air, but recently I was thinking that I needed to take a look at the challenge again.
I’m not doing 30 days. It was a little too stressful. Not the challenge itself, although that could be, but coming up with something everyday, and finding time to do it, was sometimes hard. That being said, I found the challenge really changed me, in good ways. It gave me confidence to push myself and strength in my abilities. It reminded me that “yes I can.”
As I go into this last stretch of the year I’ve decided to revisit the challenge, but in a different way. Every two weeks I’ll challenge myself to do something out of my comfort zone, usually something I’ve been avoiding. I’m going to call the grocery store and talk to the manager about carrying my favorite yogurt (Noosa) in the large plain container. I’m going to start calling people on the phone more often since I think sometimes email is a crutch we use for difficult conversations, and I’m going to go out of my way to offer something to a stranger–maybe a cup of coffee, or a helping hand.
While the challenge is called #BeatRejection, I think it’s more positive than that. The challenge is really about showing yourself how easy the tasks we’re afraid of can really be. So join me if you will, either for 30 days or once a week. Challenge yourself to do something that makes you uncomfortable. You don’t have to jump out of an airplane, but maybe you will decide to finally start that running regimen you’ve been worried you’re not good enough to do.
I got this constant cringe whenever I have to work with the accounting company for my own company’s accounting. The problem is that in Germany accounting firms (service providers) make a lot of mistakes and you have to be really a professional to spot them and then tell them how to fix them – as if it were your job. Plus that you have to do most of the paperwork, they only click a few times in their special software. So, I hate doing this. This is my challenge, deling with them. And, whether I like it or not, I’m gonna have to deal with the accounting firm all next week grrrrr… So count me in
I definitely think it’s the time of year, the shorter days perhaps, drawing the curtains against the outside world earlier and earlier. My neighbours are elderly. They’re lovely people, but she has dementia and her husband is determined not to let her go into care. He is devoted to her. I’ve offered help before but he has always refused. I understand. They’re both frightened. I’ve been worried for a while but felt I shouldn’t interfere. However, the other day I asked myself what would I lose by telling him we care and were only next door if they needed anything. To my surprise he came to my house and we had a long talk. He admitted he was often depressed because he felt helpless. I offered to look up some dementia websites and was able to give him information about support. He seemed so much happier. I’ve learnt a lot from this. I think it’s natural for us to be reticent but sometimes we need to reach out, even if we think it’s a risk. I think it’s one we should be prepared to take.
I’ve had a rough year, my health has not been good and my mobility is getting worse. My first attempt at writing a book failed when I realised that my voice just didn’t work for that genre and my rewrite was too close to the original (I know I was warned about that.)
It resulted in depression and me pretty much, stopping writing and everything else including social media, not even the beagle’s Instagram.
I have done a lot of reading lately and most of it YA. Now I’m picking myself up and making myself get back into life.
My challenge is going to be writing at least 500 words a day while the kids are at school and leaving the house once a week, just sitting in the car doesn’t count.
I did the challenge last year and I also found it hard to find something everyday. I won’t be doing that this year because life’s a bit chaotic at the moment (I am hurtling towards Christmas pretty sure the only way I’m going to stop is by crashing straight into it).
After the official challenge I did do one big thing to challenge myself. I gave up my day job to start my own editing business this year. I want ‘author’ to be my day job, I’m not there yet, so this is a step I could take towards my writing career. Talk about stomach churning, but it turns out it’s been a very positive career choice. I’ve been working constantly all year.
As for this year’s challenge… the thing that puts me most out of my comfort zone is saying ‘no’. No matter how squirmy my stomach is, and how much my brain is screaming ‘no’ I still say yes – often to the detriment of my blood pressure as I end up so overloaded – because it is the ‘right thing to do’. This may not seem like a big deal to others, but for me it is. I am going to say ‘no’ to things.
(PS Hollie, you can always email me for some positive support: anitajoy at live dot com dot au)