you need to welcome rejection

anise, originally uploaded by emdot.

i just heard a line on a dan savage podcast that stopped me in my tracks:

you need to welcome rejection.

savage was addressing a gay guy who was too shy to go up to another man at a bar. everyone is afraid of being rejected. everyone. and dan's advice was "you need to welcome rejection."

and i thought to myself, yep. me, too.

and i'm in a really awesome relationship, so i wasn't applying it to my life in a "go to a bar" situation. but in an every other situation.

i am one of the biggest scaredycats i know, deciding to forgo oh so many opportunities (travel, new location, new school, new job, my dreams, etc.) because in truth... i am terrified of rejection. i am terrified of failure. i bank on the tried-true-and-hum-drum because what if the other were to go south?

anyway. dan savage is the man and i swear to god his advice is spot on 100% of the time. or atleast 98%. if you don't know who he is OR if you are a prude and/or easily offended/squeamish, then he is most probably not the guy for you. so don't go googling him. :) all the rest of you should be downloading his podcasts.