Embracing Rejection

Purpose

In the speech “What I Learned from 100 Days of Rejection,” Jia Jiang uses anecdotes to showcase how overcoming the fear of rejection by taking the initiative to ask and staying engaged, can lead to accomplishing goals they may have previously deemed unreasonable. With a mission of desensitizing himself from rejection, Jiang embarked on a journey he called “Rejection Therapy,” seeking out a daily dose of rejection by making irrational requests. On one of these days, Jiang attempted to pursue one of his life dreams: teaching a class. Knocking on doors of university professors’ offices and proposing his lesson plan, Jiang “didn’t get anywhere the first couple of times,” but “because [he] didn’t run—[he] kept doing it—on the third try, the professor was very impressed,” and allowed Jiang to teach a university class (Jiang).  Jiang’s persistence despite the rejection he encountered the initial times illustrates how asking is an avenue to success. If Jiang had never asked or given up after the first times, accepting rejection as absolute, as he often did in the past, he would have relinquished the opportunity to fulfill one of his dreams, retracting himself from the avenue of success; however, it is because he embraced rejection—not misinterpreting it as a derogatory or malicious action—that Jiang was able to accomplish his mission. Furthermore, it is because Jiang was rejected by the first two teachers that he was able to find a professor who was extremely responsive and impressed with Jiang’s presentation. In a sense, rejection (which can only be accomplished by taking the initiative to ask) nudged Jiang in the right direction and guided him to success. This indicates that by not allowing his actions to be inhibited by the fear of rejection or other negative preconceived notions, persistently asking opens up new opportunities, and if the conditions are right, may even lead to the accomplishment of goals. After this experience, Jiang reflects that he “used to think [he] had to accomplish all these things—[had] to be a great entrepreneur or be a PhD to teach—but no, [he] just asked and [he] could teach.” (Jiang). Jiang realizes that in the past, he would let his insecurities and self-doubt control him, stopping him from pursuing what he wanted to achieve with his life. In this scenario, however, though Jiang saw himself as unqualified to teach a class, he still asked if he could and was able to. This  experience illustrates how one’s self-doubt is often not representative of the outcomes that may result. Furthermore, it confirms Jiang’s resolve that it is often worth taking the initiative to ask since the possibilities that may arise are often different than the manifestations of rejection that one may fear. From requesting olympic ring-styled donuts to asking to teach a class, Jiang showcases the surprises that come from confronting rejection in a comedic yet riveting way. Through anecdotes and an analysis of his own life, he demonstrates how this change in mindset allowed him to accomplish many of his wishes and even dreams while making the audience wonder what is truly holding them back from doing the same. Consequently, Jiang urges others to break free from their fears of rejection, since the act of asking and staying engaged may lead to opportunities and success where one may have expected dead-ends.

Audience

Jiang's primary audience is individuals who may have high aspirations, yet are restrained by their own doubts and fear. He reflects on this dilemma throughout his own life, explaining it as a “constant battle” between two versions of himself: “One [who] wanted to conquer the world—make a difference—another [who] was afraid of rejection” (par. 9). Personifying his ambition and fear of fighting in a  never-ending war may portray a deep and true understanding of the internal struggles that specific individuals may be experiencing, providing a unique sense of comfort, credibility, and empathy as Jiang has gone through the same problem. However, Jiang learned how to overcome his doubts and accomplished many goals by doing so. This transformation calls out individuals who may see themselves in the same place as younger Jiang, yet still desire to grow and move past their fear to fulfill their dreams—to be set free from the shackles of fear and rejection and reach their full potential. 

Effectiveness

By establishing his credibility, Jiang’s argument that overcoming rejection by asking and staying engaged can lead to unexpected opportunities is effective. First, Jiang explains why and how he is justified to speak about rejection by explaining how the fear of rejection kept dictating his life, hindering his new ideas. With a mission to overcome this fear, Jiang challenges himself to “go out and look for rejection [...] feel [himself] getting rejected [for] 100 days” and to make “a video blog out of it” (Jiang). The absurdity of Jiang’s challenge is some of what makes his argument so compelling: despite going through the pain, hardships, and the overall process of committing himself to consistently face rejection for an extended period of time, Jiang still comes out of it claiming that opening one’s mind to rejection is worth the initial struggle (and may be even surprising to see the new opportunities that are only unlocked by asking for them). The audience is more likely to heed Jiang’s advice since he has faced maximum levels of rejection in some of the most comically irrational ways, like asking a stranger for 100 dollars or for a “burger refill.” Furthermore, by displaying his embarrassment and rejection through the video blogs, Jiang boldly makes the statement that rejection is not a fact to be ashamed of or fear, but rather a stepping stone to success that one should embrace. Overall, Jiang effectively argues that embracing and engaging past rejection may lead to unexpected possibilities by describing how he embarked on a transformational, rejection-seeking period of his life.