Were You Picked Last on the High School Sports Teams?

I belong to a group called EO (Entrepreneurs’ Organization).  The NYC chapter has about 200+ members. I’ve been involved in the group for several years and for the record, I absolutely love the group!

During the first few years, I was involved in a forum group.  (For those of you who don’t know, a forum group is a group of entrepreneurs who get together to discuss various situations with other business owners.) I loved the group.  The members were amazing and I learned a lot about myself and my business.

But the group didn’t last long.  After a couple of years, we disbanded.  So I joined another group.  The second group was great too, except after every meeting, we kept losing members.  Then one day, shortly thereafter, we broke up.

I waited some time before I told the forum chair person that I was ready to go back into forum.  Months went by and no one called me. I saw him at a meeting a few months later and asked him what was going on. “I’m actually holding you back because I would love to have you in my group,” he said.

I was excited. He had great people in his forum group and I thought it would be a good opportunity.  Until months later, I got an email saying that I wasn’t accepted into their forum. It said I wasn’t the right fit.

I was upset but moved on. I didn’t focus on it. I was asked into another group and accepted. I thought that was it until I saw the forum chair at a dinearound event a month or so later. “I joined another forum group, no thanks to you,” I joked.

“Ooooh, that hurts,” he said kidding around.

“No but really, why wasn’t I accepted into the group?” I asked him. “Who didn’t like me?”

“I’m sorry I can’t say,” he said and tried to change the subject. I kept trying to turn back to why I wasn’t accepted.  And then, I started to cry. I couldn’t believe it. I was actually feeling really hurt that I wasn’t accepted into his forum group.

“Why are you so upset?” another member who was sitting next to us asked me. “Was it because you got picked last on your sports teams in High School?”

“Hmmm…. maybe…. ” I said.

Then, I went over to a friend at the event and told him what happened. “Hilary, why are you so upset?” he asked. “You get rejected every day. Hmmm… I guess you feel hurt because this is more personal.”

I shook my head. I was still crying.  “Well,” he said, “get over it.”

I looked at him and smiled.  You know what?  He was right.

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DISCLOSURE: NO CONNECTION, UNPAID, MY OWN OPINIONS

I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.