FOMO (fear of missing out) might be a 21st century term but the concept has been around forever. If you think about it, it was actually recognized in the Ten Commandments – thou shalt not covet. So if you’re suffering from FOMO of biblical proportions, here’s how to deal.
1 Slow down and Take a Breath, You Don’t Need to Be Involved 24/7
One of the best ways to kill FOMO is to simply slow down your own pace of life. Train your mind that you don’t need to be involved in every single little thing that occurs in your professional and personal life. Sometimes it’s okay to get a second hand account later on!
Frequently asked questions
2 Learn to Discern What is Really Important and What is Not
You can save yourself a lot of internal angst at missing a particular event if you learn to accept that not every single event is of the utmost importance to attend. Before you commit to something, consider why you are going. Are you going because you want to, or just because you don’t want to miss out?
3 Don’t Think of Events like They Are Social Tests You Need to Pass
Don’t stick the mind-set that not going to a particular party is a failure on your part to uphold your place in the friendship group structure that you have created. Missing a party is not social suicide, so don’t treat it like it is.
4 Accept That You Can’t Have It All
You physically cannot be in more than one place at the same time, so it is inevitable that you are going to miss out on a few conflicting events every now and then. What you need to remember is that you are not the only person who cannot attend everything, therefore you are not missing out a huge group event where you are the only absentee.
5 Focus on Taking One Thing at a Time
A lot of FOMO can arise when you realize that you are doing one thing when there is another going on. To stop your mind from drifting, just focus on being present in the situation you are in instead of wondering what it is like elsewhere. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side!
6 Try to Be More Comfortable with Your Own Company
A breeding ground for FOMO is when you might be ill and your friends are out doing something. Instead of getting upset about missing out, learn to be more comfortable with your own company. Read a book, watch a movie, and enjoy some me time before you are back in the game!
7 Prioritize Your Close Friends over Constant Networking
Find a way to be satisfied with your close groups of friends rather than constantly wanting to expand your horizons and go to every party, every weekend, all the time. Just because you are meeting new people, it doesn’t mean your life is becoming any richer.
8 Savor the Moment You Are in Rather than Wishing for a Different One
We all, hopefully, are destined to live long lives, so there really is no need to have a horrible night experiencing FOMO just because you are missing one event. There will be plenty of other events, just embrace the moment you are in right now and look for positives.
9 Be Gracious Instead of Chasing Fantasies
You can really offend a person if you attend their event and then spend all of your time wishing you were somewhere else. Cultivate a gracious attitude and be happy to be invited in the first place.
10 Above All, Enjoy Yourself, No Matter What You Are Doing!
Some people make the mistake of thinking that they have to be doing something major or new to have a good time, but with the right attitude, you can have fun doing absolutely anything, even the everyday things that you thought were completely boring!
