Hi friends! Hope everyone’s week is off to a good start. Gabi’s “fostering” (AKA it’s looking like it’s def going to be a foster-fail situation) a puppy named Archie, and he’s literally become her entire personality. I mean, can you blame her?

Today’s tunes: The hot new trend is to create a playlist with your favorite 100 songs without repeating an artist more than twice. Obviously, Rod’s been working on it, so check out his playlist so far here.

Have a Q for WorkDaze or the podcast? We wanna hear it here! 

Rejection Sucks: Here’s How to Deal With It

I don’t think we’ve ever been like, “Wow, I love not being picked!!” after experiencing rejection, but it’s a healthy and humbling part of life that we’ve all dealt with at one time or another. Rejection in relationships and the workplace can leave us lacking confidence and make us spend entirely too much time wondering what the heck is wrong with us. But we’re here to tell you… nothing is! Here’s why: 

Rejection in dating

Gabi here! I recently went on a third date with someone I genuinely was interested in, and thought the feelings were mutual (spoiler alert: they weren’t lolz). The last time hanging out, he told me he had recently accepted a job where he’d be working 100+ hours a week (barf), and starting a relationship wasn’t sustainable. Blah, Blah, Blah.

At first, I was like, “Okay, we love the honesty,” but as time passed (and my girlies slapped some sense into me, ily 🫶), I realized I was just Ginnifer Goodwin in He’s Just Not That Into You. And to put it plain and simple… he just wasn’t into me.

Was I bummed about yet another failed Hinge romance? Sure. However, as a single woman in her thirties, I try to remind myself of three simple but important things.  

• You don’t want to be with someone that isn’t choosing you. You should never have to convince someone they should be with you.

• If they wanted to, they would. People put effort into the things they care about, plain and simple. 

• It didn’t work out because something else will. It's definitely something all people who found their person before Tinder was even a thing say to us, but they’re not wrong. *Cue me constantly resisting the urge to say, “Okay, but like when?”

All of this to say, we’re all going to be okay! P.S. Reply to this email and send us your fun/terrible dating stories if you need an outlet. We’d love to hear them!

Rejection in the workplace

Rod’s turn! Rejection at work soooooks (Happy Endings reference), but just like in relationships, it will always be there in one way or another. Whether you didn’t get that promotion or that project you spent weeks on gets turned down, it can be disheartening and leave you feeling unappreciated.

If you’re like me, any form of constructive feedback will leave me in tears (although I said was open to it in my interview, oops!). However, there’s something to be said about learning from your mistakes and getting to the bottom of your rejection! So the next time this happens, here are some things to say to approach your rejection with confidence:

• “I spent some time working on this ___ and followed the guidelines provided. I’m curious about what was missed so I can provide what’s needed next time.”

• “Do you have any suggestions that may allow for my next idea to evolve into something you’re looking for?”

• “What did the other candidate display that I was missing?”

At the end of the day, the decision was made and there’s nothing you can do now except focus on the present. 

P.S. Not to be THAT person, but rejection therapy is something I’ve been working on with my therapist, and while I have to do breathing exercises after being pushed out of my comfort zone, I’m happy to report that it’s helped a lot!! 

Have a Q for us that you want featured on Are You Mad At Me? or in WorkDaze? We wanna hear it here! 

…after you’ve been staring at your dog dreaming for the past 30 mins.

If you listened to today’s Are You Mad At Me?, you’ll know we both love a good Italian grinder sammy. So obviously this Feta Cheese Grinder Dip left us speechless.

Netflix’s new rom-com series Nobody Wants This. with Adam Brody and Kristen Bell (Blair Waldorf’s husband IRL and Gossip Girl herself is the crossover we never knew we needed). It’s cute, funny, and all too relatable.

McDonald’s just announced they're coming out with a mini McFlurry, and we have a hard-hitting question for you all. M&M or Oreo?

Thanks so much for reading! We hope you guys enjoy the rest of the week. Only two more sleeps until Friday! 

—Rod and Gabi