The day or time that we really become professionals is when we take our work seriously but not personally. Being serious about our work is far easier than shedding the personal part of what comes with it. By personal, I mean the inevitable slings, arrows, criticisms, failures and miscalculations that come with the territory.

When someone rejects us or a project goes south, valuable lessons are learned when it comes to changing tactics and direction that will serve us better and more successfully going forward.

Not a single loss, rebuke or setback though is a reflection of our intrinsic self-worth… unless we allow it.

Pros understand the distinction between seriously and personally – embodying the former and eschewing the latter.