Authenticity

Rejection always stings, and it may or may not get easier to handle over time as you age and experience more rejections. Why it stings is complicated because sometimes we anticipate rejection, but when it hits, it still feels bad.

I think of myself as an expert in rejection. I’ve been rejected by colleges, jobs, friends, family, and romantic partners. I’ve been rejected by people I’ve admired and respected, people I’ve loved and trusted, and even people I’ve never met.

When someone asks me, “s’whattaya do?”, I have a difficult time providing a straight answer. These days, I suppose any of these would be acceptable answers:

• Software Artisan
• Philosopher
• Amateur Blogger
• Author
• Investor
• Entrepreneur
• Human With Two Dogs
• Computer Person
• Techie
• Nerd
• Former Lyft Driver
• Autodidact
• Potato Farmer

Okay, okay, I will stop there. I could go on, but I’ll spare you.

Most people go through life within a reality distortion field, shaped by the cultural norms and expectations about what is right or good in the world, and the point where those expectations intersect with reality.

While everyone likes to pretend they’re authentic, most people spend most of their lives lying to themselves, largely because society forces us to. Look no further than the website “LinkedIn”, which is where everyone turns their respective bullshit reality distortion fields up to 100 to signal their suitability to potential recruiters in the event an opportunity to level up comes along.