In our journey to become the best versions of ourselves it is only natural we are challenged along the way. We are often face to face with unwanted, uninvited circumstances with outcomes out of our control. In a world where success is glorified, failure takes the form of rejection and it can weigh us down, and with that our goals and motivations suffer. Rejection, at any level, strips your self worth by telling you that you can no longer be what you thought you were. That your path has been blocked, your dream altered, your light darkened. But what we fail to see in the dark is that an ending in turn becomes a beginning—with death comes birth. There is a cycle of success that is meant to be taken advantage of, if we seize the moment. Rejection is nothing more than an opportunity. Once stripped of what you were, you find yourself reaching through the dark trying to find something to become. But in that simple action of reaching, you evoke control. Darkness often feels heavy until you start moving within it. Until you realize that being pushed back down to zero means your opportunities become endless. Light cannot sustain itself infinitely, eventually it turns to dark. But whether you succumb to an all encompassing darkness, or grasp the opportunity and fill this absence with something new, is entirely up to you.  You may not have chosen the dark but you can choose where to find your light. And as far as when is concerned, that is reliant on your strength to endure; a strength coming from the realization that those shining with success have often found themselves faded by failure. And recognizing failure is understanding there was a lesson that had not yet been learned. With this new knowledge comes a birth of a newly found strength. At Stoic Los Angeles we understand and see through the dark, supporting and lifting those within it so that they too can endure beyond their control.  We shine light on the struggle and nature of rejection in hopes to illuminate your next path. If there is one thing failure breeds, it is hunger for success. We are, have been, and will always be, Fueled by Rejection.   Copy by Hannah Diaz