Fear of rejection is a huge obstacle to success, especially for an entrepreneur. You fear people will reject your proposal. You fear they will deny you a promotion. You fear they won't want your product. Because of these fears, you lose opportunities.
To top it off, you can't get rid of your fear of rejection by just reading about it. It's something you have to confront and overcome for yourself. Once you do, you'll be able to seize opportunities and build your career.
Have a look at these five apps for overcoming the fear of rejection!
1. 100 Days of Rejection
When Jia Jiang, the founder of Rejection Therapy, realized the fear of rejection was holding his career back, he challenged himself to get rejected on purpose 100 times. He hoped this rejection therapy would inoculate him against the pain of rejection, and it worked!
Following that, Jiang created the Rejection Therapy website, and the 100 Days of Rejection app. This app shares his checklist of 100 rejection scenarios.
The first task is to ask a stranger if you can borrow a hundred dollars, and it only gets more wild from there.
Each challenge includes alternatives if the basic version is impossible for you. It also includes Jiang's insights from when he completed the challenge himself.
Download: 100 Days of Rejection for Android (Free)
2. DareMe
If you fear rejection, you may tend to avoid challenging situations. This app uses social accountability to push you out of your comfort zone. You join the app with friends or colleagues, daring each other to push your limits. It can help relieve Imposter Syndrome to fight your fears together.
Jiang helped create this app, too. It's a good choice if you want to challenge yourself, but don't feel up to 100 rejections in a row.
DareMe includes dares tailored for sales and business development. You can challenge your workplace to face rejection, complete cold calls, and more. You can also create custom dares.
Each time you complete a dare, you earn points. The points determine your score on the workplace leaderboard. There's also a group chat where you can cheer each other on.
Download: DareMe for Android | iOS (Free)
3. To Don't - Break Bad Habits
The To Don't app helps you stop your rejection-avoidant habits. You can use it for other bad habits too, like laziness or unhealthy eating. It tracks streaks to give you a sense of progress and accomplishment.
You can customize the app to your specific fears. Here are some to-don'ts for career-based rejection therapy:
- Keep a pitch/proposal to yourself
- Dismiss a job or promotion without applying
- Predict a negative reaction
- Take the easy way out
- Avoid following up on an unresolved issue
Each day, the app will prompt you to report whether you avoided these behaviors or not. If you miss a day, you can still adjust it in your history, so it's easy to keep up.
Download: To Don't for Android (Free)
4. MyPossibleSelf: Mental Health
This app focuses on processing rejection and fear in a healthy way. It helps you stop talking yourself out of opportunities. It also tackles the beliefs that fuel fear of rejection.
The guided series for anxiety on this app is best for coping with rejection fear. When you realize your rejection fear is holding you back, choose Exploring my anxiety.
MyPossibleSelf's exercises will help you recognize the physical and mental signs of anxiety. It will help you interrogate your negative thoughts. Over time, these processes become automatic.
The app also helps you overcome negative self-talk and boost your self-esteem. It teaches you how to calm the physical symptoms of rejection-based anxiety. There are also many text and video resources for learning more about it.
Download: MyPossibleSelf: Mental Health for Android | iOS (Free, subscriptions available)
5. I Am—Daily Affirmations
This app is more about the confidence side of rejection fear. It counters the negative thought spiral that fear of rejection brings.
When you predict that others will turn you down, it can create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Using a more positive mindset can help you stop predicting negative responses.
To get your mind on a more optimistic track, I Am offers focused affirmation sessions. You can also add an affirmation widget to the home screen. The text and background are customizable, too.
You can customize your own messages, or choose from the included packs. We recommend the affirmations for Stress and Anxiety. If you buy a subscription, you can also get the Positive Thinking and Work and Career packs.
Download: I Am—Daily Affirmations for Android | iOS (Free, subscriptions available)
Progress Your Career Without Fear
When you aren't afraid of rejection, you can push yourself forward. You'll be able to seize all the opportunities you avoided before. With this, your confidence grows.
For those early in their career, overcoming fear of rejection is crucial. Beating it will make it easier to establish a network and find your ideal job.