All variations of worrying, including worrying about rejection, thrive on ‘end of the world’ thinking.  In other words, our emotions convince us that an undesirable outcome results in annihilation.

• What if they don’t like me?
• What if he rejects me?
• What if I don’t fit in and I’m left sitting alone at the party?
• etc.

None of these things result in the end of the world, but if we convince ourselves that they do, we will irrationally fear these outcomes and give our fears control over us.  The truth is, we – human beings – are inefficient at accurately predicting how future misfortune will make us feel.  In fact, most of the time we avoid consciously thinking about it all together, which only perpetuates our subconscious fears.

So ask yourself: “If disaster should strike, and my fear of being rejected comes true, what are three constructive ways I could cope and move forward with my life?”

Sit down and tell yourself a story (write it down too if it helps) about how you will feel after rejection, how you will allow yourself to be upset for a short while, and then how you will begin the process of growing from the experience and moving on.  Just doing this exercise will help you to feel less fear around the possibility of someone thinking poorly of you.  And you’ll gradually begin to realize…

What other people think of you really doesn’t matter that much.