---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I love my rejection slips. They show me I…"
description: "\"“I love my rejection slips. They show me I try. (This quote is probably wrongly attributed to Sylvia Plath)”\" — Sylvia Plath"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/sylvia-plath-149_heartbreak_i-love-my-rejection-slips-they-show-me-i_3134454.jpg"
---

#  I love my rejection slips. They show me I try. (This quote…

![“I love my rejection slips. They show me I try. (This quote is probably wrongly attributed to Sylvia Plath)” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/sylvia-plath-149_heartbreak_i-love-my-rejection-slips-they-show-me-i_3134454.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/sylvia-plath-149_heartbreak_i-love-my-rejection-slips-they-show-me-i_3134454.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/sylvia-plath-149_heartbreak_i-love-my-rejection-slips-they-show-me-i_3134454.jpg)

> ““I love my rejection slips. They show me I try. (This quote is probably wrongly attributed to Sylvia Plath)””

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Rejection letters are valued as proof of effort and perseverance, turning failure into motivation.

**In simple terms:** Rejection shows you tried.

Key Takeaway

Embrace rejection as evidence of trying.

Themes

motivation resilience failure growth creativity

Mood

hopeful determined reflective

Type

inspirational motivational

When to use this quote

- career development
- artistic pursuits
- writing workshops
- personal growth

Key Concepts

psychology self‑esteem learning

Questions to Reflect On

- What can you learn from each rejection?
- How can you turn setbacks into forward motion?

A Different Perspective

Rejection can also discourage and lower confidence.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Heartbreak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartbreak/) [Rejection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rejection/)

## Related quotes

> [I love my rejection slips. They show me I try.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-my-rejection-slips-they-show-me-i-try/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [I've been trying to write a book since before I was old enough to vote, and I've collected many rejection slips from publishers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-moehringer/i-ve-been-trying-to-write-a-book-since-before-i-was-old-enough-to/)

[J. R. Moehringer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-moehringer/)

> [All the other kids in ninth grade were drawing hot rods and cocker spaniels and getting blue ribbons in art class. I was getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-holland/all-the-other-kids-in-ninth-grade-were-drawing-hot-rods-and-cocker/)

[Brad Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-holland/)

> [Rejection slips, or form letters, however tactfully phrased, are lacerations of the soul, if not quite inventions of the devil-but there is no way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/rejection-slips-or-form-letters-however-tactfully-phrased-are/)

[Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/)

> [It had been fourteen years and I hadn't had anything published. I had 250 rejection slips. I got my first novel published and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-alther/it-had-been-fourteen-years-and-i-hadn-t-had-anything-published-i-had/)

[Lisa Alther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-alther/)

> [Most writers, including myself, had to endure a lot of rejections before finally getting published. You could wallpaper a sizeable bathroom with the rejection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-weeks/most-writers-including-myself-had-to-endure-a-lot-of-rejections/)

[Jonathan Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-weeks/)

> [Nobody told me how hard it was going to be to get published. I wrote four novels that nobody wanted, sent them out all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/nobody-told-me-how-hard-it-was-going-to-be-to-get-published-i-wrote/)

[Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/)

> [“We were already in school by then. Your friends had made fun of me. I was twelve. My higher brain functions weren’t fully developed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-echols/we-were-already-in-school-by-then-your-friends-had-made-fun-of-me-i/)

[Jennifer Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-echols/)

> [I know she still wants to be my friend. But after loves confession that's impossible. Because no matter what I say I'm going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-she-still-wants-to-be-my-friend-but-after-loves-confession/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [It far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-tan/it-far-easier-to-find-a-reason-not-to-love-someone-than-otherwise/)

[Adrian Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-tan/)

> [“My world falls apart, crumbles, “The centre cannot hold.” There is no integrating force, only the naked fear, the urge of self-preservation. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/my-world-falls-apart-crumbles-the-centre-cannot-hold-there-is-no/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my lids and all is born again. (I think I made you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-shut-my-eyes-and-all-the-world-drops-dead-i-lift-my-lids-and-all-is/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“...it wouldn't have made one scrap of difference to me, because wherever I sat - on the deck of a ship or at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-wouldn-t-have-made-one-scrap-of-difference-to-me-because-wherever/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“The blood jet is poetry, There is no stopping it. 'Kindness' by Sylvia Plath”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-blood-jet-is-poetry-there-is-no-stopping-it-kindness-by-sylvia/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“All night your moth-breath Flickers among the flat pink roses. I wake to listen. A far sea moves in my ear. --from "Morning Song",…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/all-night-your-moth-breath-flickers-among-the-flat-pink-roses-i-wake/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

## More by Sylvia Plath

> [“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-was-a-queer-sultry-summer-the-summer-they-electrocuted-the/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [I love life. But it is hard and I have so much, so very much to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-life-but-it-is-hard-and-i-have-so-much-so-very-much-to-learn/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. ... --Lady Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-skin-and-bone-nevertheless-i-am/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. Now I am living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/sure-i-m-dramatic-and-sloppily-semi-cynical-and-semi-sentimental-but/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/people-were-made-of-nothing-so-much-as-dust-and-i-couldn-t-see-that/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“I couldn't stand the idea of a woman having to have a single pure life and a man being able to have a double…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-couldn-t-stand-the-idea-of-a-woman-having-to-have-a-single-pure/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [I saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-saw-the-gooseflesh-on-my-skin-i-did-not-know-what-made-it-i-was-not/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-to-live-my-life-and-it-is-the-only-one-i-ll-ever-have/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“The city had faded my tan, though. I looked yellow as a Chinaman. Ordinarily, I would have been nervous about my dress and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-city-had-faded-my-tan-though-i-looked-yellow-as-a-chinaman/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [Joy:show joy &amp; enjoy: then others will be joyful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/joy-show-joy-enjoy-then-others-will-be-joyful/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [A million years of evolution, Eric said bitterly, and what are we? Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“I have stitched life into me like a rare organ --from "Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices", written 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-stitched-life-into-me-like-a-rare-organ-from-three-women-a/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [It is so much safer not to feel, not to let the world touch me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-is-so-much-safer-not-to-feel-not-to-let-the-world-touch-me/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“Flute Notes from a Reedy Pond" Now coldness comes sifting down, layer after layer, To our bower at the lily root. Overhead the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/flute-notes-from-a-reedy-pond-now-coldness-comes-sifting-down-layer/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“The most saddening thing is to admit that I am not in love. I can only love (if that means self denial - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-most-saddening-thing-is-to-admit-that-i-am-not-in-love-i-can-only/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

[Explore all 1,098 Sylvia Plath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

## More Heartbreak quotes

> [It hurts wanting the best for someone you love, even if they feel the best isn't you. That's real love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-hurts-wanting-the-best-for-someone-you-love-even-if-they-feel-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There's only so much for a man to take...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gilchrist/there-s-only-so-much-for-a-man-to-take/)

Kirsten Gilchrist

> [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/)

Kevin McLeod

> [“If you'd only let me come by myself, none of this would have happened. Having you around makes everything worse.' She buried her head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-standiford/if-you-d-only-let-me-come-by-myself-none-of-this-would-have-happened/)

[Natalie Standiford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-standiford/)

> [If you leave someone for another person, don't be surprised if that person leaves you for someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-leave-someone-for-another-person-don-t-be-surprised-if-that/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“...what happens when you return and find nothing but a hollowed shell, shingles and floor, walls and echoes and the light that lead you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/what-happens-when-you-return-and-find-nothing-but-a-hollowed-shell/)

[Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/)

> [“Sometimes family breakups are catastrophic, they can lead to decades of ill-feeling within the family unit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-ellis/sometimes-family-breakups-are-catastrophic-they-can-lead-to-decades/)

[Joy Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-ellis/)

> [It's fucking terrifying that no matter how many promises they made, no matter how long you've been together, someone can get up &amp; walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larissa-derrah/it-s-fucking-terrifying-that-no-matter-how-many-promises-they-made-no/)

Larissa Derrah

> [“3:29:50 pm what is it that you love about him is it the way he lets you down incapable of lifting you up is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-h-sin/3-29-50-pm-what-is-it-that-you-love-about-him-is-it-the-way-he-lets/)

[R.H. Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-h-sin/)

> [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [“I don’t know what it is with you and that asshole. Four years and a bad breakup later and you’re still in a fucking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarryn-fisher/i-don-t-know-what-it-is-with-you-and-that-asshole-four-years-and-a/)

[Tarryn Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarryn-fisher/)

> [“I wish I believed him. He's looking at me like he can see where I begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-mcnamara/i-wish-i-believed-him-he-s-looking-at-me-like-he-can-see-where-i-begin/)

[Amy McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-mcnamara/)

> [I dont regret meeting you, I regret letting you into my heart only to have you break it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-dont-regret-meeting-you-i-regret-letting-you-into-my-heart-only-to/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [When you ask people about love, they tell you about heartbreak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/when-you-ask-people-about-love-they-tell-you-about-heartbreak/)

[Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/)

> [A heartbreak isnt as loud as a bomb exploding. Sometimes it can be as quiet as a feather falling and the most painful thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/superman/a-heartbreak-isnt-as-loud-as-a-bomb-exploding-sometimes-it-can-be-as/)

Superman

[Browse all 3,477 Heartbreak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartbreak/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I love my rejection slips. They show me I try. (This quote is probably wrongly attributed to Sylvia Plath)”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Sylvia Plath"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-my-rejection-slips-they-show-me-i-try-this-quote-is-probably/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Heartbreak"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-my-rejection-slips-they-show-me-i-try-this-quote-is-probably/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/sylvia-plath-149_heartbreak_i-love-my-rejection-slips-they-show-me-i_3134454.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/sylvia-plath-149_heartbreak_i-love-my-rejection-slips-they-show-me-i_3134454.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e32/sylvia-plath-149_heartbreak_i-love-my-rejection-slips-they-show-me-i_3134454.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I love my rejection slips. They show me I try. (This quote is probably wrongly attributed to Sylvia Plath)” — Sylvia Plath",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Sylvia Plath",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I love my rejection slips. They...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-my-rejection-slips-they-show-me-i-try-this-quote-is-probably/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-my-rejection-slips-they-show-me-i-try-this-quote-is-probably/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
