# Bounce back after a rejection

Helps you process a rejection, separate facts from the story you're telling yourself, and decide your next move.

- Topic: Personal Life & Wellbeing
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/bounce-back-after-a-rejection

## Prompt

```text
Help me recover from a rejection.

**What happened:** [e.g. "didn't get the job after the final interview", "date said they're not interested", "application turned down", "friend pulled away"]
**What I know for sure about why:** [FACTS OR FEEDBACK - or "nothing"]
**What I'm telling myself about it:** [e.g. "I'm not good enough", "this always happens"]
**How much it mattered to me:** [CONTEXT]
**Do I want to try again?** [YES / NO / NOT SURE]

Help me in this order:
1. Acknowledge that rejection hurts, briefly and without drama.
2. Separate what I actually know from the story I'm adding. List both side by side.
3. Other plausible reasons it may have gone this way that have nothing to do with my worth.
4. What, if anything, is useful to learn, kept to 2-3 specific points.
5. Whether and how to ask for feedback or close things gracefully, with a short message if appropriate.
6. A next step that keeps momentum (e.g. the next application, the next social plan) within the next 7 days.
7. One sentence to remind myself of when it stings again.

Don't speculate about the other person's motives as fact. Keep the tone steady and kind, not cheerleading.
```

## What to fill in

- FACTS OR FEEDBACK - or "nothing"
- e.g. "I'm not good enough", "this always happens"
- CONTEXT
- YES / NO / NOT SURE

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.