Rejection is a universal experience, experienced by everyone at some point in their lives. Whether it’s in love, career, friendships, or other personal ambitions, facing rejection can be deeply disconcerting and emotionally challenging.
However, it also serves as a key moment for growth and self-reflection. Rejection quotes capture the significance of this experience, offering insights, consolation, and sometimes humor.
They remind you that you are not alone in your battles and that every rejection can pave the way to fresh opportunities and personal strength. These quotes can be a source of inspiration, helping you to navigate the complicated emotions associated with rejection and to come out stronger on the other side.
Top Rejection Quotes
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” – Albert Einstein
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison
“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” – Babe Ruth
“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” – Henry Ford
“You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance.” – Ray Bradbury
“Remember that rejection is not a reflection of your worth as a person.” – Anonymous
“I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat.” – Sylvester Stallone
“Rejection just means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” – Winston Churchill
“I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more of a fool not afraid of rejection.” – Billy Joel
“Rejection isn’t failure. Failure is giving up. Everyone gets rejected. It’s how you handle it that determines where you’ll end up.” – Richard Castle
Also Read: Maria Telkes Quotes (with Commentary)
Handling Rejection Quotes
“The best way to deal with rejection is to prove it wrong.” – Bo Bennett
“Turn your wounds into wisdom.” – Oprah Winfrey
“Don’t waste yourself in rejection, nor bark against the bad, but chant the beauty of the good.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“You must be willing to endure rejection on the road to success.” – Robert Kiyosaki
“Rejection gives you more power to push forward.” – Jeremy Piven
“Rejection is merely a redirection; a course correction to your destiny.” – Bryant McGill
“Rejection is not the end…it’s just a step on the path.” – Perez Hilton
“Stay strong, be brave, love hard and true, and you will have nothing to lose.” – Demi Lovato
“Every rejection is incremental payment on your dues that in some way will be translated back into your work.” – James Lee Burke
“After rejection – misery, then thoughts of revenge, and finally, the phoenix from the ashes with a new life plan.” – Helen Rowland
Famous Rejection Quotes
“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
“What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
“I am good at walking away. Rejection teaches you how to reject.” – Jeanette Winterson
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Nelson Mandela
“A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success.” – Bo Bennett
“The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.” – Robert Kiyosaki
“Rejection is an opportunity for your selection.” – Bernard Branson
“I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” – Maya Angelou
“A clear rejection is always better than a fake promise.” – Anonymous
“You have to learn to get up from the table when love is no longer being served.” – Nina Simone
Inspirational Rejection Quotes
“Rejection doesn’t mean you aren’t good enough; it means the other person failed to notice what you have to offer.” – Mark Amend
“The art of knowing is knowing what to ignore.” – Rumi
“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell
“Don’t feel bad if someone rejects you. People usually reject expensive things because they can’t afford them.” – Anonymous
“Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great.” – Mark Twain
“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” – Henry Ford
“Most fears of rejection rest on the desire for approval from other people. Don’t base your self-esteem on their opinions.” – Harvey Mackay
“Sometimes rejection in life is really redirection.” – Tavis Smiley
“Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.” – Neil Gaiman
“You must not let rejection define you. Let it teach you, strengthen you, and make you stronger than before.” – Anonymous
Love Rejection Quotes
“The hottest love has the coldest end.” – Socrates
“Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” – Marilyn Monroe
“It’s better to be alone, than to be in bad company.” – George Washington
“The wrong relationships teach you how to recognize the right one when it arrives.” – Mandy Hale
“Just because a relationship ends, it doesn’t mean it’s not worth having.” – Sarah Mlynowski
“Sometimes the person you want most is the person you’re best without.” – Anonymous
“Don’t cry when the sun is gone because the tears won’t let you see the stars.” – Violeta Parra
“A broken heart is just the growing pains necessary so that you can love more completely when the real thing comes along.” – J.S.B. Morse
“I was never really insane except upon occasions when my heart was touched.” – Edgar Allan Poe
“One day they’ll realize they lost a diamond while playing with worthless stones.” – Turcois Ominek
Career Rejection Quotes
“Opportunity does not knock, it presents itself when you beat down the door.” – Kyle Chandler
“Every experience in your life is being orchestrated to teach you something you need to know to move forward.” – Brian Tracy
“When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell
“I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.” – Thomas A. Edison
“Failure is success if we learn from it.” – Malcolm Forbes
“No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.” – Tony Robbins
“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.” – Confucius
“There are no failures – just experiences and your reactions to them.” – Tom Krause
“Rejection is not fatal; it is merely someone’s opinion.” – Anonymous
“What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.” – Oscar Wilde
Friendship Rejection Quotes
“No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.” – Alice Walker
“An insincere friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an insincere friend will wound your mind.” – Buddha
“Some people are going to leave, but that’s not the end of your story. That’s the end of their part in your story.” – Faraaz Kazi
“It’s far better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone — so far.” – Marilyn Monroe
“Better to have an enemy who slaps you in the face than a friend who stabs you in the back.” – Anonymous
“We never lose friends. We simply learn who the real ones are.” – Anonymous
“True friends will always find a way to help you. Fake friends will always find an excuse.” – Anonymous
“Don’t fear the enemy that attacks you, but the fake friend that hugs you.” – Anonymous
“A friend who stands with you in pressure is more valuable than a hundred ones who stand with you in pleasure.” – Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
“A fake friend likes to see you do well, but not better than them.” – Anonymous
Self-Worth and Rejection Quotes
“Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.” – Anonymous
“The moment you feel you have to prove your worth to someone is the moment to absolutely and utterly walk away.” – Alysia Harris
“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” – Mark Twain
“Sometimes the hardest part of the journey is believing you’re worthy of the trip.” – Glenn Beck
“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.” – Maya Angelou
“Self-worth comes from one thing – thinking that you are worthy.” – Wayne Dyer
“Don’t let someone else’s opinion of you become your reality.” – Les Brown
“Why should we worry about what others think of us, do we have more confidence in their opinions than we do our own?” – Brigham Young
“Refuse to accept another’s estimation of yourself.” – Alison Stormwolf
“If you live off a man’s compliments, you’ll die from his criticism.” – Cornelius Lindsey
Philosophical Rejection Quotes
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas A. Edison
“What is to give light must endure burning.” – Viktor E. Frankl
“He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” – John Powell
“The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.” – Henri Bergson
“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” – Kahlil Gibran
“Rejection is not the end. It is merely a step on the path.” – Plato
“Do not fear rejection. Fear instead the loss of potential for not trying at all.” – Marcus Aurelius
“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” – Haruki Murakami
“The role of a writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say.” – Anaïs Nin
Humorous Rejection Quotes
“I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb… and I also know that I’m not blonde.” – Dolly Parton
“I used to think I was indecisive, but now I’m not too sure.” – Tommy Cooper
“Rejection is just nature’s way of letting you know you picked the wrong one.” – Anonymous
“The best way to avoid rejection is to reject first.” – Steve Martin
“I am free of all prejudice. I hate everyone equally.” – W.C. Fields
“I’m not sure if the world hates me or it’s just the women I decide to hit on.” – Anonymous
“If at first you don’t succeed, then skydiving definitely isn’t for you.” – Steven Wright
“Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.” – Jim Carrey
“My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I’m right.” – Ashleigh Brilliant
“People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” – Isaac Asimov
Rejection Quotes from Literature
“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.” – J.K. Rowling
“It’s much better to do good in a way that no one knows anything about it.” – Leo Tolstoy
“Nothing that’s worthwhile is ever easy. Remember that.” – Nicholas Sparks
“I was never afraid of failure; for I would sooner fail than not be among the greatest.” – John Keats
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
“I am not discouraged because every wrong attempt discarded is a step forward.” – Thomas A. Edison, as quoted in literature
“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.” – Harper Lee
“There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.” – Jane Austen
“When you find your path, you must not be afraid. You need to have sufficient courage to make mistakes.” – Paulo Coelho
“What is to give light must endure burning.” – Viktor E. Frankl
Rejection Quotes about Growth
“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.” – Richard Bach
“The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.” – Chinese Proverb
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” – Robert F. Kennedy
“There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period.” – Brene Brown
“Mistakes are the portals of discovery.” – James Joyce
“It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” – Bill Gates
“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius
“Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.” – Mandy Hale
“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end.” – Denis Waitley
“You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky
Also Read: Lust Quotes (with Commentary)
Final Thoughts
Rejection, while often painful, is a vital part of the human experience that helps shape your character and path in life. The wisdom summarized in rejection quotes provides solace and perspective during periods of disappointment.
By reflecting on these quotes, you can find the strength to endure and the boldness to continue pursuing your goals despite the setbacks. Finally, embracing the lessons of rejection can lead you to incredible self-awareness and success.
As you share and ponder on these quotes, they serve as gentle reminders that every experience of rejection is not just an end, but a fresh start.