Jacki's Wrap-up Post

Hi guys. We're half-way through October and I'm just now wrapping up Rejection Therapy. No time like the present. First, here's the "what" of how things turned out ...

- I had 23 blog-worthy rejections
- I had at least 30 total rejections
- I did not get rejected every day because of days that I never left home and it just didn't happen

So, I guess with the original intention, I didn't quite make it since we did say to do it every day.

My eye, obviously.

What did I learn or gain? Well, I want to keep it short since one thing I learned is that people really don't care all that much when you look at our blog views :) So I'll just pick the top things.

1. Pamela and I are now better friends. I appreciate having her in my life. We are as similar as we are different and we are both very open, it makes for a lot of learning.
2. I do not like toying with people, hence the rule changes I made. At the same time, sometimes what I think of as toying with people is more about my own fears and insecurities and self-consciousness and fear of, yes, rejection. This was mostly learned during my favorite rejection.
3. It reminded me of my biases and preferences to talk to people who are like me. White, similarly dressed, not too attractive. Also preferring men to women. I want to keep challenging these preferences when I need directions or help. Every time I do it, I break down my biases just a little bit more. 
4. I fulfilled a secret dream of approaching a police officer. Police officers scare me and they shouldn't. Not to get into recent news, but in general, police officers are there to help and I still fear them because of teenaged and college shenanigans that could have gotten me arrested (but thankfully didn't).
5. Hugs and chest bumps from strangers are awesome.
6. I'm very grateful for this experience, which was all the more important as I've decided to take a perhaps permanent break from therapy.
7. It's good to find reasons to leave the house when you work from home and on your own. I've definitely done better at that since doing Rejection Therapy--I think it pushed me in the right direction!

Overall, Rejection Therapy confirmed some things I already knew, but don't always keep in mind. People are usually more awesome than you expect, personal interaction makes you feel better, and stepping outside your comfort zone is usually rewarding.

I plan on asking more strangers for hugs, or even friends when it might not be expected. If I need a hug, there's no reason I can't have one! I plan to continue pushing myself when I see opportunities for more connection with others or facing my fear of the almighty NO.

Lastly, thank you to Pamela for getting me involved in this mess. I enjoyed it. Toodles.