When dating, either online or in real life, if you experience rapid-fire rejection (or alternatively, if you go on a series of unsuccessful dates) it can be easy to become a bit gunshy when it comes to meeting new people. The problem is that this fear or shyness of dating is obviously counterproductive for finding love.

Rejection shouldn't stop you from wanting to keep trying. It's totally fair that you might want to take a break or back off from the dating scene after several disappointments, but if you let yourself do that, you may find yourself facing an uphill battle when it comes to trusting anyone. Taking chances on people is inherently a bit scary, but you can't let rejection turn into insecurity and stop you from pursuing other people.

In efforts to combat said fear of even more rejection, it's important to give yourself a pep talk every now and then. Reminding yourself of all you have to offer and reassuring yourself that it's most likely nothing you're doing but rather just a bad match-up that's causing these failed relationships or failed acquaintances can keep you on the right track to finding happiness.

Letting a small setback stop you from dating is not only detrimental to your dating life (obviously), but it can spiral into making you think that every relationship will be the same disappointment. And as we all know, self-fulfilling prophecies can be a real pain.

Instead, if you find yourself fatigued by rejection or disappointment (or both), let yourself have a few days to ruminate, but then get back on the so-called horse. Keeping at it will not only improve your overall chances of eventually meeting someone you really do like, but it will keep you in practice for dating—we all know how tough it can be to put yourself back out there after you've taken a lot of time off.

[photo from Morguefile]