Nobody wants to be rejected. No matter what you’re doing in your life—whether it’s for dating or just applying for jobs etc. That impending fear that you won’t be chosen is always somewhere inside of your head, feeding on any self-confidence you may have. It is a natural fear that everybody has, to some degree – even the most confident among us. It’s just a defense that our bodies have in order to protect themselves from emotional damage. We know that rejection hurts, and we try to avoid ever having to feel it.

That avoidance however, is unrealistic because the truth is that life is full of rejection and we all have to deal with it, no matter how strong our fear is. However, if your fear of rejection is becoming a huge problem in your life, then there are different things you can do to silence those negative thoughts for good.

Always consider the worst/best case scenarios in any situation. Most of the time, people fear rejection because they don’t know what the outcome will be. In order to get rid of this fear, go over the best and worst things that could possibly happen. When you have determined the worst thing that could possibly happen in a situation you will be much more prepared and you may even realize that being rejected isn’t the worst thing.

Realize that life is short. This might not be such a serious one but actually realizing that life is indeed short goes a long way in helping you overcome the fear of rejection. When you put that thought into perspective, you’ll come to understand that you have to either go for it and deal with the rejection, or live in fear of rejection and never find out. You’ll be forced to let go of the fear in due time.

Find out why it scares you so much. Rejection affects everybody in a negative manner but if it’s really, really bad for you then you must determine why that is the case. Before you can beat the fear of rejection, you have to know why it’s such a bad fear in the first place. Were you humiliated after being rejected once or are you just easily embarrassed? Decide which it is for you and then confront those issues separately.

Spend time working on yourself. Another reason for people fearing rejection so fiercely is because of insecurities. They are not very confident in themselves and this leads to a bigger fear of them failing and being rejected. So, take some time to work on yourself. Read some books to gain knowledge and just pamper yourself. Becoming a better person will ease the fear of being rejected because you won’t base your worth on the opinions of others.

Always be positive before heading into a situation. If you need a little help before going off into a situation where you have the chance to be rejected, keep a small list of things to read or confess that will make you feel better. Remind yourself of all your good traits, remind yourself of why rejection shouldn’t be feared, and then continue with your day. It’ll ease the tension and put you in a positive mindset.

Gain some confidence. Just like working on making yourself a better person can ease the fear of rejection, gaining some confidence can do wonders. Many people who are confident are the people who go out and go after just about anything without fearing the outcome. Go buy something that’ll make you feel great about yourself. Work out to help with your body image etc.

Always be prepared for the worst. Nobody wants to think about the worst thing that can happen but you should always be prepared for it. When you walk into a place thinking there’s no way you can be rejected, you will risk having your world crash down around you. You should be prepared to be rejected. Know exactly what you will say or do if it happens so you won’t have any reason to fear. If you’re prepared for it, you can deal with it.

Remember sometimes rejection has nothing to do with you. Have you ever been feared being rejected before suddenly realizing that you may not even be the reason that you could be rejected? If you want to pick up someone that you may want to date and they say “no,” do you think that it could be their own problems and not you at all? When you take a step back and actually analyze the situation, you may come to the conclusion that the reality of being rejected might not have a thing to do with you. From there, the fear pretty much vanishes.

Understand that everyone might not love you. Not everybody is going to be like you. Not everybody is going to think that you’re the best fit for their needs. It’s not harsh and it’s not something you should be fearful of; it’s just the way life works. Once you realize that, you’ll see that rejection isn’t something that feels like a personal attack, but a natural occurrence of life.

Finally, try to put yourself in situations where you won’t be rejected. The best way to get over the fear of rejection is to make sure you’re not in a position where you will be rejected. Do your research before a job interview, look to get with the people that are in your league and do whatever you can to prepare for the day ahead of you.