Classic Bad Decisions Are Often Driven By Fear Or Greed
Fear of missing out and fear of looking stupid are common precursors to making really bad choices.
By David Grace (Amazon Page — David Grace Website)
FOMO Is Fueled By Greed
Most of us are familiar with the term YOLO — You Only Live Once — but YOLO is actually just another angle from which to view FOMO — Fear Of Missing Out.
Both YOLO and FOMO are shorthand expressions for the fear that if you don’t experience something now, if you don’t make some leap now, that you will fail to grasp or experience a wonderful opportunity that may otherwise slip away forever.
YOLO and FOMO are both offspring of greed. They are the emotional cousins to the impulse that drives the person in the buffet line to put three times more food on his/her plate than they will ever be able to eat.
FOLS Is Fueled By Insecurity
Fear Of Looking Stupid —FOLS — springs from a platform of weakness and feelings of inferiority and insecurity. It manifests itself in the failure to question assumptions that seem to be obvious to others but which you are afraid to admit are not obvious to you.
FOLS is the insecurity that keeps a person from questioning the wisdom of the actions of the herd of which s/he is a member.
Bad decisions begin with the greed that drives FOMO and are compounded by the weakness that silences voicing your concerns — FOLS.
If FOMO is the driving force behind joining the herd in pursuing what “everyone” is sure is the Next Big Thing, then FOLS is FOMO’s twin that keeps you from questioning the reasons why everyone is so sure that pursuing that target is actually a good idea.
I credit FOMO and FOLS as two of the principal driving forces behind both Microsoft and Amazon executives deciding that that it would be a wonderful idea for their companies to spend billions of dollars to make their own cell phones.
FOMO and FOLS are not twins; they are triplets. The third sibling in this triumverate is FOLW — the Fear Of Looking Weak.
The Fear Of Looking Weak
Whereas FOMO and FOLS arise in response to events that are not specifically directed at the actor — The iPhone is making Apple billions so maybe we should make our own cell phone — FOLW follows a triggering event that is specifically directed at the actor.
Someone does something to you and FOLW energizes your decision about what to do next.
FOLW is often preceded by one or more of the following sentences,
- “I can’t let him/her/them do me that way”;
- “I can’t let him/her/them do that to me”;
- “I can’t let him/her/them get away with that.”
- “How would it look if I let him/her/them get away with that?”
If you hear yourself saying any of those things, STOP.
Any time your next actions, or inactions, are going to be driven by FOMO, FOLS or FOLW, then stop.
Actions motivated by fear, greed, insecurity or weakness are almost always a really stupid/bad idea.
If you can refuse to act out of fear or greed you will avoid a cornucopia of bad choices.
— David Grace (Amazon Page — David Grace Website)
