I have been looking for a woman to start a relationship with, but every time I find somebody who interests me they either have a boyfriend or they shoot me down. I don't take rejection well so I end up taking harder than I should. What can I do or do differently to get past this?

Stop looking, because first you need to work on your confidence, and then rejection won't be as bad, think of rejection as saving you from wasting time with the wrong person... Don't look too hard, because then you can become desperate and settle for second best. Enjoy being lonely take your time... Build your self-esteem. I don't know where you are meeting this women, but that also plays a factor in which type of women you will encounter.. Hang in there...

Stop looking for a relationship, and make friends to have fun with. Looking for a relationship tends to make us overlook some folks, we have no interest in, and focus on a select group. Forget that, enjoy everyone you meet, if you can. You never know, who they know. As far as a fear of rejection? Don't take it personally, because its not.