"Unfortunately, on this occasion..."

Rejection sucks. Here's how I deal with it.

One of the recent rejection emails I received

It’s has been an interesting few months. I’ve got more rejections that ever - and for someone who struggles with rejection sensitivity this can be super tough.

I have to remind myself that it means I’ve put myself forward to more opportunities to get my work seen, and it will eventually pay off.

I have to remind myself to prepare for rejection, because it’s an inevitable part of artistic life.

I have to remind myself that although it sucks, it is not the end of the world (even if it feels like it at the time).

I have to remind myself that my work is valuable even if this particular juror / funding giver / curator didn’t connect with it.

I have to remind myself to keep going regardless, and make work that I’m proud of.

As Holly Whitaker writes in her recent post on Recovering, we say we value authenticity but only when it’s prettied-up, I’ve-figured-it-all-out and I’m on the other side of it sort of authenticity (which, coincidentally, one of the difficult…