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What happens when you deliberately try to get rejected 1,000 times?
Six months ago, I started the 1,000 Rejection Challenge to stop letting fear of rejection make decisions for me. I committed to making 10 asks every week—submitting my art and writing, pitching ideas, entering competitions, applying for opportunities, and deliberately risking hearing “no.”
Now I've made 212 asks and officially received my 100th rejection.
But instead of pushing harder, I'm doing something I didn't expect: taking a break.
In this Wildly Rejected: Becoming the Bison update, I'm looking at what six months of intentionally facing rejection has taught me about resilience, creative burnout, knowing when to pause, and recognizing the opportunities that are actually pointing you toward your next direction.
And some of the biggest lessons came from two very unexpected places: Sharkapalooza and two monarch butterflies named Nemo and Cora.
After caring for Nemo and Cora when they emerged with damaged wings, I wrote an essay called Broken Wings & Broken Heart. The magazine rejected it—but instead of simply saying no, its readers gave me extensive feedback and invited me to revise and resubmit.
That rejection forced me to dig deeper into the story and ultimately into myself.
The essay became Broken Wings, Begin Again.
That experience reminded me why I started this challenge in the first place. A rejection isn't always a dead end. Sometimes it's information. Sometimes it's redirection. Sometimes it means “not yet.” And sometimes the thing you're creating—or the person creating it—just isn't finished developing yet.
After six months:
212 asks
100 rejections
56 acceptances
33 in review
17 waiting
5 other
That's 100 of the 1,000 rejections I'm chasing—and a pretty poetic place to let this experiment rest for October.
I'll be back to Becoming the Bison in November.
Until next time, unplug, get outside, and see what develops.
ABOUT WILDLY UNPLUG
Hosted by naturalist, artist, photographer, and storyteller Lauren Connolly, Wildly Unplug explores what happens when we step away from the noise, reconnect with nature and creativity, and give ourselves room to see what develops.
