You Like Me, You Really Like Me

Sally Field never said, “You like me, you really like me.” She did say, “I can’t deny the fact that you like me. Right now, you like me.” Ms. Fields struggled with rejection, acceptance, and her place in Hollywood. Her roles as Gidget and The Flying Nun set her on a path that would garner her two Academy Awards, yet it took winning the second for her to find her place in the hierarchy of Hollywood.

The Fear of Rejection

The fear of rejection is real and difficult to deal with. The ramifications that come with this fear can be devastating. The fear of rejection brings with it people pleasing, not being able to say no, taking on too much, working too hard and too much, hiding your true feelings and emotions and many others. My mental health journey has taken me to some depths over the last year or so. This idea is one that I am just beginning to explore deeply.

Perfectionism

I have a great fear of failure, not withstanding my greatest struggles are performance and perfectionism. Achievement, excellence, and winning is as American as apple pie, however they seem to have bulked up on steroids in my mind and life. I know that the fear of rejection which feeds the fear of failure is ingrained in me. The roots go deep. I have an idea that source is quite obvious. I’ll be digging deep to uncover it. Maybe today or someday soon I’ll be able to say, “I can’t deny the fact that you like me. Right now you like me.”