Hoop Related Rejection

Author Jill Janosek discusses how to understand and deal with the rejection some hoopers will likely come across in the hula hoop community

When you diving deeper into the hoop world, chances are you have filled out an application of some kind. Sponsorships, hoop troupes, performances, and more all ask you to fill out some kind of questionnaire and ask you to show off your ability. If you have filled out an application, then you might be familiar with the sting of rejection. According to Fortune.com There are five main stages of rejection denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Denial: The first step in dealing with rejection, is understanding that you have in fact been rejected. Recently I filled out an application for a hoop troupe at a festival, on the application it gave a specified date as to when all applicants would hear back. I marked my calendar and counted the days, and then that day past, and then a week past. While at that point I understood I most likely was not chosen I still longingly stared at my inbox hoping for a miracle.

Anger: Once you understand that you were denied the natural reaction is to be angry. Once I realized that the “Congratulations” e-mail was not going to be sent out to me I was upset. Why would they tell people they would receive notification either way and then just never send anything out? Was I not good enough? Was it personal? (Note: It never is)

Bargaining: As much as you might have been angry, lets face it if you applied for it, you wanted it. After your anger wears down you may start to bargain. I started wondering if maybe I was chosen as a back up, maybe they simply forgot to put my name on the list of congratulations letters, maybe, maybe, maybe.

Depression: Hooping is art. You put your heart and soul into every movement and when you fill out those questionnaires you taken them seriously, you think through your responses and you hope that they take in the passion you are pouring out and when you are not chosen it hurts. You start to question your abilities as a whole and you question if all that time you spent working with the sacred circle was worth it.

Acceptance: Once you have gone though the previous stages you accept that the other applicants were simply better qualified. They may have more experience in that type of setting, maybe they have been hooping for a much longer amount of time, maybe you were up next to be chosen the competition was simply to mighty.

The best part about being part of the hoop community is knowing that the first rejection, is never a final rejection. Yes, it may hurt and you will be disappointed to know that your skills did not yet match up to what they were looking for. When this happens it might be nice to treat yourself. Buy that NEW LED from ShelLED you have been eying, go get a massage, spend a few extra minuets on your morning yoga. You can always reapply to that festival again next year. You were not chosen for a sponsorship? Keep promoting, shop owners will notice! The end is never the end, just the start of the time frame for your next application.