Ask Without Fear of Rejection

I hope you had a great Labor Day Weekend! In this blog I'm sharing with you my key takeaways from Ch. 9 of The Success Principles Workbook by Chicken Soup for the Soul Author Jack Canfield. It's my way of keeping myself accountable to pursue my goals every week.

The title of Ch. 9 is "Ask Without Fear of Rejection." This is one of the most difficult things for me to do when I'm at work - asking for a better pay, for comp days off, etc. Here are some reasons why I'm not asking, according to this workbook:

- I don't know that help is available

- I avoid others who are smarter, wealthier, or more 'successful'

- I don't really know what I want or need

Having clarity gives you confidence and confidence helps you to ask for what you want. Jack prompts me to determine the next most obvious step I can take in achieving my goal. He takes me through the areas of finances, work, relationships, health, etc. For each category I fill out and/or answer the following prompts:

My most important want or need is _________________________.

The next most obvious step to achieving what I want/need is ________________________.

Who can I ask for help?

What will I ask for?

This is the most important takeaway for me from this chapter:

When you fail to ask, you are the one who is rejecting yourself in advance of ever asking.

The chapter continues where I ask the same series of questions for the same categories I mentioned above:

What do I need to ask for?

How do I stop myself from asking?

What is it costing me not to ask?

What benefit(s) would I get if I asked?

I also found this next part really helpful- I didn't know that there was a formula to improve chances of getting a yes!

- Ask As If You Expect to Get It

- Ask Someone Who Can Give It To You

- Be Clear and Specific When You Ask

- Ask For What You Want, Not What You Don't Want

- Ask Repeatedly

As previous chapters also helped me to do, the workbook prompts me to get into a positive headspace by having me imagine the best possible outcomes.

If I could get what I wanted, my life would be...
If the person I was asking could fulfill my request, they'd...
I can expand my thinking by dreaming of getting what I ask for, plus...
If my requests were honored, my next steps after that would be...
If they went beyond my request and delivered even more than I asked for, they would...

It's a lot of behavioral changes, right?? The journal prompt at the end asks what the one thing is that I will do differently as a result of reading this chapter. I wrote "Ask with confidence of having already received it."

Hopefully the lessons from this chapter stay in my mind the next time I negotiate a salary or work out a partnership agreement!

Love,

Christine

P.S. Here is an example of asking for what I want- I modeled some clothes as an 'influencer' for Canadian designer Joseph Ribkoff. While many people are generally happy to just model in exchange for free clothing, I negotiated a modeling fee in addition to the clothing to compensate for my time. I wouldn't have received the additional payment if I didn't ask! :)