A term commonly used to describe the Fear Of Missing Out. Throughout the past few years I have heard this term and phrase thrown around haphazardly and yet I think there is more truth to it then many let on to. Yes, there will always be people who say they have F.O.M.O. and may mildly have that, but at the end of the day it is just something they say and does not truly affect their lives.
I, however, believe that there are people who do legitimately have F.O.M.O. and have found that I am one of them. I also believe I have a slight tendency to be O.C.D. and I am not sure if these are connected or not. I am sure someone who is much more knowledgeable on the topic of mental health could help me with this diagnosis. I have thus far used my slight O.C.D. as a strength and channeled it into my work ethic, calendars, and organization of my personal life. I have often joked that I am O.C.D. enough that I could be an excellent life planner for someone. I am not intending to be offensive or insensitive to anyone who may have a more extreme case of O.C.D., but I am simply trying to express what I have experienced.
This F.O.M.O. can be paralyzing if you allow it to control you. Throughout my undergrad experience I reacted to this fear through over committing to everything that sounded like it would be "up my alley." It took four years and then some to realize that every yes to something is a no to someone or something else. I knew this intellectually and yet I just kept wanting to say yes to everything. Not only did I want to say yes to everything, but I also had the strange belief that if I was passionate about something or heard about something that I loved, then I would need to work for them one day. I had taken the idea of "doing what you love" to the next level and translated it to "try and do EVERYTHING you love" while simultaneously neglecting the idea of hobbies and extra-curricular activities outside of your career.
Even now while I am in a job that I absolutely love and is stable I often hear about exciting new ventures and just want to drop everything and look into those options. I believe this thought process is how I now struggle with F.O.M.O. I am finding that even though I am completely satisfied and content with where I am at, I fear that I'll miss out on something else if it sounds "up my alley." I also struggle with the thoughts "Am I doing enough?" "Am I helping people enough?" "Does what I do matter?" I am again struggling with those feelings of "what if" that plagued my undergrad experience.
So my post today does not end with a solution, but rather some questions:
How does one overcome F.O.M.O.? How does one become content and realize that, yes there will be other opportunities out there and yes it is okay to turn those down because you are in a good place right now?
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Resources on F.O.M.O.
Times Magazine: http://time.com/collection/guide-to-happiness/4358140/overcome-fomo/
Psychology behind FOMO: http://www.slate.com/blogs/quora/2015/09/30/fomo_what_s_the_psychology_behind_the_fear_of_missing_out.html
Another resource: https://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2015/10/12/fear-of-missing-out/
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