WELLBEING KNOWHOW Reboot Your Brain After Rejection

 


Jo E. Verrill goes in search of a way to reboot your brain after a knock, with help from creative mindset coach AJ Merlin



If you want to be a writer you have to learn to boss rejection. While I'm pretty sure it's normal and healthy to have a bit of a mope – and who hasn't deleted themselves off Twitter while throwing a wobbly? – it's really important to be able to rationalise and move on.


Creative mindset coach AJ Merlin suggests the following visualisation exercise to get the process going:


It’s often easier to see your struggles through someone else’s eyes, and what better way than using someone who inspires you?


Find a quiet place and take a few deep breaths through your nose. 


It’s time to use your imagination. Who is your favourite writer? Picture them. What are they wearing? What is their body language? 


Now imagine where they write...Imagine every detail in that room. You can see all the successful book(s) they’ve written next to them, your favourite book on top. 


Now imagine being them. How does it feel? 


Imagine writing in that space, with as much detail as possible. Focus on what they can see, hear, smell... 


They receive a notification. They stop writing and read a rejection email. How do they react to it? 

What are their thoughts? 


What do they do once they've read it? 


Now get back in your shoes. How was their reaction different to yours? Why? Write what inspired you in their behaviour. 


This is how you can start shifting your mindset. Next time you receive a rejection email, think about your favourite writer and how they would react to it. And implement what works for you, and what lifts you up.


* Picture credit: Trym Nilson on Unsplash


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Jo. E Verrill is an enthusiastic writer of humorous books for children, and an advertising and broadcasting standards consultant. 

 

AJ Merlin is a creative mindset coach at www.treasureyourdream.com and helps women achieve their dream goal using techniques such as CBT and NLP. 

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