Is a rebound always bad?

We've all heard the warnings... the universal censure of "rebound" relationships.   Bound to fail for a variety of reasons, blah blah blah.

But you know, I'm not sure it's always a bad thing.   When you have a board with a broken nail in it, you can leave that nail in to get all rusty, or you can use a whole nail to drive the broken one out of the hole.   I think that rebound relationships can serve the same purpose, if you let them.   Even if you are not completely over a breakup, a new romance can help drive the remains of the last one out of the hole in your heart so it can heal.   Besides, it can also be fun!

I'm in the process right now of trying to drive out a nail;  one that's stuck in there pretty good.  So I'm MAKING myself look at other men as potential partners, something that I don't typically do even when I'm single.  I generally don't go looking for relationships; to the contrary, I tend to avoid them.   But right now I think that the best thing for me is to entertain the possibility of enjoying being with someone else.   It feels wierd, flirting with guys.  But it also feels good, because in two particular cases, the attention seems to be appreciated.   Are either of them going to progress to a relationship (or even just gratuitous sex)?  I dunno, but that's not the point.   I'm looking for a rebound interest, everything else is just gravy.