It’s Okay To Feel FOMO. Here’s Why and How to Deal With It Effectively
We think we can do everything, and hence never learn to say no.
Productive bros have made us belive we need to do everything to be successful.
Hustle. Hustle. And some more hustle.
No matter where I go, this one piece of advice (or some version of it) keeps following me: if you aren’t doing XYZ, you are seriously missing out.
Replace XYZ with anything and you will certainly find someone saying that.
The point is: yes, I know I am missing out. What’s the reason for saying it a hundred and one times?
A good counter-argument to this is that you need to shout at the top of your voice for someone to listen over the internet.
Okay, fine. That means this FOMO thing is a necessity for most of the part. It’s not only productivity bros who use it.
Be it a writer (have you tried this writing regime?) or a designer (if you’re not using Figma then what are you even doing?), most of us are culprits in some way or the other.
Even I can even make you feel the FOMO in my next sentence. FOMO should now be normalised, I guess.
Let’s substitute “I don’t know but I’m feeling weird,” with “bro, you’re missing out.”
All in all, FOMO is here to stay.
Weeks ago, I was feeling it because I started using Twitter. Yes, that is the best option if you want to have FOMO. Go, check it out once lol.
People are doing all sorts of amazing stuff and you will be questioning yourself a gazillion times what the hell are you even doing?
But do you know the good part? This can act to your advantage, only if you want it to.
It can motivate you to do more. Do something more interesting and worthwhile.
Personally speaking, I wrote more and learnt a lot of new things, all thanks to Twitter. But what about FOMO?
Yes, it’s present. Definitely. But this interaction provided me with a way to deal with it in a better way.
Look, FOMO is not always bad. And that’s why it needs a flexible approach to manage it.
You can learn a lot from it. Just keep in mind not to indulge in it. Don’t overthink it.
It was not until I started sharing my thoughts and interacting with people on Twitter did I realise that all of them are also humans who are constantly figuring things out.
If they can, why can’t I?
When I redirected my thoughts in that way, FOMO eventually left the room. I don’t experience it with this concern.
But at the same time, I might have done nothing had I not felt it in the initial days.
So, the most effective way to deal with FOMO, at least for me, is to feel it. Feel it once. Feel it twice.
Then decide if you want to act on this.
All the things you will feel anxious about not doing will not be worth it. That’s why it becomes crucial to judge and analyse your opportunity cost properly.
As the saying goes, “it is more important what we say no to,” say no to a lot of things. That’s how you make time to do the most important tasks.
But at the same time, don’t underestimate the power of FOMO in getting things done.
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