Rejection spreadsheets: would 1,000 knockbacks make you a better person? | Health & wellbeing

Name: Rejection Worksheets.

Age: There is nothing new about rejection. JK Rowling was rejected by 12 publishers and Elvis was told he couldn’t sing. Going back a little further, Cain had a produce offering rejected by God himself, would Adam and Eve do it?

But these are rejection spreadsheets, right? RIGHT. And they are newer.

Come on, when did they start? OK, so let’s first introduce Gabriella Carr.

[Waves] Hello Gabriella Carr. In September last year, Ms Carr posted on TikTok and Instagram…

Where else! Other platforms are available. Anyway, Carr posted a video of her goals and dreams for 2026. They included career goals (she’s a video creator and actress), read more books, gain more followers…

So far, it is not much different from other people’s goals and dreams. She also brandished a red notebook on which she had written “The 1000 Nos of Gabriella Carr”.

No as in… Yes, or rather the opposite of yes. Rejections. In her little red book, she lists the jobs she applied for, roles and brand influencer campaigns she signed up for and was turned down.

Why is she doing this, to keep score? “I know I’m delusional, but you kind of have to be to pursue your dreams,” she said. “I’d rather try to fail than never try at all.”

Almost turning a negative into something…if not positive, then some sort of success? I like it, I think. The others too. Guess what?

It became a thing! Yes, it is. “So there’s the girl of 1,000 rejections,” announced another TikToker, @theplanistobefamous. “I do what she does, but I have a spreadsheet!”

And what does @theplanistobefamous have on his spreadsheet? Attempts on marketplace sites to get things cheap (or for free!), networking opportunities, and job applications (for fairly ambitious jobs, “LA Times Studio Host”, for example).

Still, aim high if you’re looking for a no. I guess. On one line, he said “sent an email to Claudia” in the tasks column; followed in the status column by “Blocked”.

It’s sad. No, it’s a victory! And there you have it, the 1,000 Rejects Challenge was born. Today, the Internet is full of people recording big numbers.

Well, I think it’s healthier than these perfection challenges, such as 75 hard. Spiritually perhaps, if not physically healthier.

And how does it happen Carr, who started it all? So far she has had 86…

Not bad, but there is still a way to go… And 17 yes.

No! Yes! Including landing a role in a play, earning a competition title and – perhaps most impressive – obtaining Dutch citizenship and a passport.

Say: “Joepie!(That’s Dutch for “Yay!”)

Don’t say: “Yeah, but she’s trying to get rejected, so isn’t that a… failure?”