The voltage behind every no | Yuen Jade Flestado | TEDxRizalStreetYouth

Quick Overview

Yuen Jade Flestado, an electrical engineering student and TEDxRizalStreetYouth speaker, argues that rejection should be reframed as redirection, not a signal of failure, by applying four coping mechanisms: checking one's system, observing emotions without judgment, consciously redirecting energy, and recognizing that one's worth is independent of outcomes like receiving a scholarship or being chosen.

Key Points: The speaker, Yuen Jade Flestado, an electrical engineering student, shares her perspective on coping with rejection, which she defines as redirection. She outlines a four-step coping mechanism: check your system, observe your emotions, redirect energy, and understand that rejection is not a measure of self-worth. Flestado cites the Law of Conservation of Energy, stating that energy is never destroyed but only transferred, analogous to how efforts in a perceived failure can fuel something great. She emphasizes that emotional responses to rejection, like anger or sadness, should be observed as data, not acted upon immediately, as emotions are temporary. The speaker highlights that even small signals, like a transistor triggering a large current, show how minor inputs can cause major reactions, relating this to how small rejections can lead to significant redirection. Flestado concludes that rejection is not an endpoint but a redirection toward what one truly needs, urging the audience not to let anyone dim their light, regardless of success or failure.

Context: This video captures a TEDx talk delivered by Yuen Jade Flestado, an electrical engineering student, at the TEDxRizalStreetYouth event in Sorsogon City in October 2025. The central theme of her presentation revolves around reframing the experience of rejection, drawing analogies from her engineering background to offer practical coping strategies for handling setbacks and failures in life.

Detailed Analysis

Yuen Jade Flestado, an electrical engineering student, delivers a motivational speech asserting that rejection is fundamentally redirection, not failure. She recounts the pain of being rejected for a highly desired scholarship, which initially felt devastating, like being doused with ice water. She introduces a four-step mechanism for dealing with rejection: 1. Check your system (Is the problem the circuit or the person/failure?). 2. Observe your emotions (Emotions are data, not commands). 3. Redirect your energy (Channel efforts into something else). 4. Recognize that your worth is inherent. Flestado uses physics analogies, comparing rejection to the Law of Conservation of Energy (energy is transferred, not destroyed) and small electrical signals triggering large reactions, to show how setbacks can lead to positive outcomes. She stresses that while rejection hurts and causes self-doubt, it is merely a redirection toward what is truly needed, and the audience should always carry their light, regardless of external validation.