Aliyawanders

Because honestly?

I needed a way to survive rejections.

So I flipped the script:

Rejection = I’m getting closer to good news.

Simple. Slightly unhinged. But effective.

The hurt is always there when I face rejection. That part doesn’t really go away.

But my hope? It’s bigger than the pain.

I acknowledge the pain, I accept it—but I don’t sit in it for too long. I try to minimise my downtime by finding ways to feel like myself again.

These days, that means diving into all those slightly unhinged Threads posts 😅

Here’s an example:

But getting here was not cute.

When I first started 20 years ago, I remember crying to my friends. I genuinely felt like I had lost myself. This “new version” of me—yes, she made money—but deep down, I didn’t even know who she was.

If back then we already had Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Alchemy of Souls, or Stranger Things, I would’ve called that version of me a “skin suit” just to explain the identity crisis. 😭

So what am I even talking about?

Have you heard of the Pareto Principle?

80% of your results come from 20% of your effort.

And younger me said:

“Okay… bet.”

Every rejection = one step closer to my 20%.

So the more people said NO…

the more excited I got. 😭

Because in my head, I tell myself that I’m progressing.

My mental gymnastics were truly Olympic-level.

People have called me crazy.

Honestly… fair.

I even kept a list of people who always rejected me.

They were my loyal 80%. My rejection VIP list.

Every 3 to 6 months, I’d follow up—just to “hit my rejection quota.”

Because in my mind,

the faster I cleared that 80%,

the faster I’d reach my people.

And somehow…

it worked.

This is the kind of mental reprogramming I’ve built over the years—

slightly dramatic, a little delusional, but very effective.

And I lowkey want to keep it.

So tell me…

have you ever trained your mind to think in a way that makes other people go,

“???” 😏