It only sounds harsh because of the language used, and then only to people who associate failure and rejection with finality and personal worth. Often, it is easier to simply use different language than it is try to rewrite a person's internal grammar.

When I applied to Y Combinator, and was not accepted, I considered it an objective not met. I didn't think of it as failure, I didn't think of it as rejection. I simply made a decision about what I was going to do next.

If you think in terms of rejection and failure, it will be difficult to pick yourself up and try again, unless the semantics you attach to those words do not include notions of finality and personal worth.