“If you hand a lousy article, what that means is you handed in a lousy article. If you get an A and then a D on your next assignment what that means is you got an A then a D. That’s all.— Periodical writing professor
There have been essays I thought I crushed, and instead, my mark crushed me. The moment I stepped away from the grade, I was able to plan my next steps. I had the power to revise, edit and improve.
How to apply this to your life
Your performance does not determine your value as a person. You are valuable as a person, and performance improves over time.
The moment I associated performance with myself, I felt discouraged about myself when things did not go well.
We often associate ourselves with the projects that we do, especially if we are passionate about them. So when it does not go according to plan, it can feel like a hit to the gut.
However, by associating performance with our value, we fall into a trap. That our grade determines our worth and that the money in our bank account determines our value. Not true!
Try not to take rejection personally but step away, revise, edit and improve before you try again.