Few things are as discouraging of thinking up a great idea, spending hours, days or weeks perfecting it and then when you present it to your superiors…they rip it apart. The hard part about this is to not take it personally. I repeat, do not take it personally.
This has been one of the hardest lessons I have learned in my past few months of work. I could have spent hours and days working my proposal to perfection, but when I present it, I am told to change over 50% of the idea or simply receive a “No” to all of it. Its beyond discouraging, but it wasn’t me they disapproved of, it was my idea and it wasn’t because they didn’t like me or had some vengeance to take out on me…it was simply business.
While it may be easier to complain and b*tch about the fact that all your hard work was flushed down the toilet, use this as an opportunity to blow them out of the water next time. Instead of stewing away at your desk all bitter and upset with thoughts of “it was a great idea, they just hate me” forming in your mind, think about how you are going to impress them next time. Peter Pan and Tinkerbell said it best, “think happy thoughts and you will fly”, well keep a positive attitude, work harder and you will fly…fly right into success!
So, when you get discouraged and start to take things personally, follow this simple idea…just think happy thoughts and work harder. Remember, no one ever became successful by complaining.