You’ll Always Miss Out ‘Out’ of Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)!

Imagine doing nothing but going through social media for hours and thinking how everyone, except you, is having fun. Everyone else is either involved in an interesting activity, or attending a lively event. Imagine religiously telling yourself that you’re missing out on any, and every, thing.

The fear of missing out has always been there, nothing new, but it’s been more acknowledged in recent years. The word “FOMO” has even been added to the Oxford Dictionary. It’s normal for people to compare their lives to others, and wanting to be popular and highly engaged. However, obsessing over it could destroy a person’s life, and sadly, the majority of our youth suffer from this fear.

Go out to any cafe and look around you. You’ll find someone sitting with a group of friends, checking everything that’s happening on Facebook and Instagram, texting more than 3 people on WhatsApp, wanting to be involved in every conversation on the table, and maybe even trying to overhear other people’s conversations. That’s a perfect case of FOMO. If you’re like that, you probably need to take a step back and pause for a minute. It’s not a great feeling, nor is it easy to deal with, but you could get over it.

And it’s totally fine! There’s always something happening without your involvement in it, whether you were intentionally or unintentionally left out. It’s okay, and it’s time to make peace with it. Just so you don’t get to deal with a sudden knowledge of the lack of involvement, decline a big gathering, or exclude yourself, if possible, from a decision making process at work. Not getting involved and missing out on something by choice will make it easier for you to be okay with the feeling.

You got invited to a party you don’t want to attend, but you’ll still go anyway because you don’t want to “miss out?” Don’t go! You’re attending a work meeting that you could be excluded from? Leave it! Get yourself out of useless involvements and miss out on the things you don’t need in your life.

Take a break from all social media platforms. You’ll miss out on a dumb viral video, or a that relationship update your friend just shared. Again, missing out on news intentionally will help you with your FOMO. You could even delete the apps from your phone, but keep your accounts up. You’ll still have them, but won’t be as involved.

Don’t invest emotionally with people who aren’t your friends, and probably never will be, just so you can “fit in.” We’re not asking you to be rude to them, just don’t get out of your way for someone to like you and eventually include you in events you might be missing out on.

This is the tough love part, just mind your own business. Don’t get involved in a conversation which doesn’t concern you. Don’t go looking for pictures that don’t feature you or your friends. Don’t attend meetings where your presence is not needed. Don’t eaves-drop on conversations you shouldn’t be hearing.

This is a cliche, but it really is okay. It won’t make you less of a person, or make you “uncool.” It only makes you a human being, and missing out on stuff just like everyone else.