This is the time of year when various versions of ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ appear on television. He’s a mean one, Mr. Grinch—that ol’ sourpuss who had his heart broken as a young man (he lost his girl to his rival, the mayor of Whoville.)
Misery loves company, and the Grinch tries to ruin Christmas for all the citizens of Whoville by stealing all their presents and sabotaging their holiday celebrations.
I suspect that the author, Dr. Seuss (Ted Geisel), had experienced his fair share of disappointment in life before writing such a compelling and convincing tale. In fact, we know when he tried to publish his first book, he was rejected by 27 publishers. Rejection is hard to take. Look what it did to the Grinch!
Rejection is a part of life
As a career practitioner for over 30 years, I have worked with hundreds of individuals who were rejected for jobs after interviews or lost their jobs. Rejection is not the final world…unless we let that rejection define our behavior, as was the case for the Grinch.
Obstacles to success should not be interpreted as stop signs. They are inevitable. “Those things that hurt, instruct.” Dr. Seuss—and millions of famous people like him–succeeded in life because they were wise enough to NOT organize their lives around their failures.
Instead, like Dr. Seuss, they focused on what really mattered to them. They established goals and took effective actions to create positive results in their lives.
Remember it probably took Dr. Seuss thousands of tears to produce the joy of Christmas in Whoville! Never give up on what really, really matters to you.