In today’s society, most of us are experiencing the fear of missing out, which is also known as F.O.M.O. Don’t believe this? Read on and reflect whether you have done this before.
You have your smartphone in your pocket or in your bag. Once you have some free minutes, you automatically pull out your phone and you are now on the social media. You are texting and replying your friends’ messages.
You simply pull out your phone whenever you think that you are bored! In fact, you think that your phone or the social media is offering content that is better than what you are doing at the moment.
This is the Fear of Missing Out (F.O.M.O.). It is basically the constant feeling of anxiety that is often provoked by social media that makes us feel as if something better is happening.
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Honestly speaking, I fell into F.O.M.O. for a long time, even before the invention of social media. Since young, I was afraid that I missed out on events that will bring me benefits and rewards.
I would also be fearful about missing out the competitions that the top pupils were joining. Thus, I constantly pushed myself to participate in any events and competitions that they joined. As time passed, the lesson that I needed to learn was getting harder.
Is F.O.M.O Making or Breaking You?
The fear of missing out almost took control of my life when I got my first smartphone. I ventured into the fascinating world of social media.
My urge to compare myself with what I saw on social media became stronger. As a result, I was getting unhappy as days passed by. So, what other consequences you would face if you are not determined enough to stay away from this fear?
If you constantly dwell into the fear of missing out, you are ruining your mental health. When you constantly compare yourself against others, you will get a sense of inferiority.
In the long run, you will experience stress and also depression. Not only you are stressed emotionally, but F.O.M.O. will also cause you financial stress too.
According to a research, 50% of us spend unnecessary money based on what we see others are doing or having. Does this sound familiar to you? Once you purchase because you feel that it is better than what you already have, you are in fact wasting your money.
Looking into your productivity, you will constantly get distracted due to this fear of missing out. You are more likely to check your social media in between your work.
While getting distracted, you are actually lowering down your productivity as our brain is not built for multi-tasking. You are merely switching between tasks.
As a result, you will get more fatigued and you will not be able to complete your work on time.
One Good Side of F.O.M.O.
However, you can benefit from F.O.M.O if you are able to take control of how you react towards what you see. You will be able to unlock new things that you should try.
For instance, you saw your friend’s posts and videos on home workout and healthy diet. Instead of comparing against your physical appearance, you choose to try out the workout and healthy diet in your daily routine.
With this, you challenge yourself to become better through the fear of missing out.
In the journey of battling against the fear of missing out, you can practise these three effective tips. I have cut down my fear of missing out tremendously through the application of these tips in my daily life.
3 Lifetime Solutions To Fight Against F.O.M.O.
Solution #1: Constantly question what’s popular before following it.
Whenever you see things going viral on your social media, always ask yourself this question,
Do I really want to do this? Or is this just because it is popular now?
The minute you ask yourself this question, you will be able to answer whether it is necessary for you to do and to buy what you see. So, you really need to force yourself to think and question the popular trend before you follow it.
If you are following a trend blindly, it simply means that you are not thinking. You are having the wrong perception that if a lot of people are doing something, that it must be right.
This is where the fear of missing out traps you in – the sense of inclusion. You have the desire to be included in a group that is doing something popular.
Make your decision to look into what works the best for you and what’s right for you at the moment!
Solution #2: Be present in the moment.
As F.O.M.O is based on the perception of you are missing out on something that is better than what you are doing or having right now, you need to get yourself focused on the right thing.
Rather than complaining about what you do not have, let’s focus on what you have. Always be present in the moment, especially for your children and other family members.
Look into how adorable your children are and enjoy every moment you are spending with your family. You will equally help your children to put down their smartphones and spend the quality time with you.
I have personally seen the difference of focusing on the present instead of posting on social media. Once I stopped posting feeds and stories on my social media during my gatherings, I am able to be more focused when I am interacting with my friends.
On the other hand, some of my friends are busy updating their social media and asking around what filter to use and what caption to fill in.
Ask yourself, “Is this the real purpose of a gathering?”. You will realise that how most of us are doing the wrong thing due to F.O.M.O.
Solution #3: Put gratitude journal into practice.
You might have heard and read about gratitude journal across many articles and videos. But, if you really put it into action, you will see how you can focus your mind on the good sides of your life.
It is necessary for us to write down what we are grateful in the morning and at night every day. Try this practice for one week and you will find out that a simple breakfast, a small win in work, a refreshed mind, a good night sleep, and a meaningful conversation with your loved ones are the things you can be grateful of.
As you continue writing your gratitude journal, you will be more positive-minded and you will feel adequate. You no longer need to compare yourself with anyone to make yourself feel better or most of the time, feeling worse.
It Is Now Or Never
If you need an impactful question to wake you up from the fear of missing out, try this out. I decided to stay away from this fear once my sister asked me this question,
Why are you doing this? Is this because everyone is doing it?
What you should not miss out is the quality time you spend with your family and loved ones. You should not miss out the quality time with yourself to reflect and to refocus on your priorities.
If you are determined to use social media wisely, you are actually teaching your children the right way to use the social media too. So, resolve to find the power to choose what you want and the courage to miss out the rest!
Otherwise, create the best childhood memories for your children with these activities and other family events that will feature at Motherhood Story.