How I learnt to kick FOMO out of my life

Lost in search of what you like to do and stuck in a rut doing what you think you must do? My best advice to you would be to stop running forward or away from the present. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be a victim of FOMO.

Let’s take “Fear of missing out” as our example. Take a step back and absorb the aphorism a little. Extrapolate the phrase and it can mean something like this.. “Fear of missing out of what has not happened yet.” Our minds are tuned to think for the future. By taking a step back, you are bringing yourself to rest in the present. No one understands this better than time. It ticks for every moment. Man has ruined its beauty by over calculating its worth. We all know that there are 365 days in a year, 30 days in a month, 7 days in a week, 24 hours in a day and so on. Does anyone look at time for every individual second? Second by second.. This does not require any skill or talent. One just has to be aware of the moment and know that each moment passes with a new moment following it. What I could have done 5 minutes back does not matter if I do not have the intention of doing it now. It definitely has no value if I assume that I will do it later. This is the mind set that has consumed all of us today. I admit that it has not failed to take over me many a times. But now that I have learnt to perceive time in this way, I consciously make an effort to do things moment by moment.

For the longest time I believed that I my passion and my salary paying job are not in sync mostly because I had no clue what I was passionate about. My days passed slowly when I felt like I was torturing myself and the same days passed swiftly when it would hit me that I have not found my passion yet. I failed time because of this back and forth turmoil. It took me a long time to understand that FOMO had taken control of my instincts. I had been stuck in a web because I was not brave enough to take a step back and be in the moment. I always thought I would lose something without even starting to explore. I gave myself a number of excuses to not explore. That is how my days passed slow and fast at the same time.

Obviously if you know what derives pleasure in you, do not think twice and just make the most of your life doing that one or many things that give you a good reason to smile at the end of the day. Start doing without thinking about its monetary value. Get as comfortable as you can with your passion and eventually the skill will pay you off. If you are like me who has not found any one particular activity which grabs all your attention and time, it is okay. In a way it is good since you have so many open windows to look through. Whatever you pick, involve yourself completely and make the task your one and only responsibility for that moment. When there is a total commitment involved, we hold ourselves responsible for every aspect of it. You can use this rule of thumb with anything you experience in life. Involvement translates to passion for that moment in your life. The result of it will surprise you in many different ways. Just this awareness can make you passionate about every single thing you do. Soon you will notice that your instincts are alive more than ever and there is nothing stronger that can control it. When you realise this, you will no longer make yourself believe that you are lost. You will appreciate the process of exploration and be glad you started at some point. It’s never late to learn this when you can make every moment your own.