FOMO: Fear of missing out OR Fostering our mind over
In today’s age of digital fluence where information is in abundance and easily available; there is a new phenomena that is emerging called ‘FOMO’. And believe me when I say that people across all age groups are affected by it in some way or the other.
Now, before I dive into the all pervasive bashing of the word FOMO and all the things that come with it, let me tell you that I think there are two sides to it. I think there are some really great upsides of this feeling and equally bad downsides.
So, lets talk about upsides (because hey, positivity! :P)
1. It pushes us to be more and do more. Many a times, we are not aware of the invisible boundaries that we create for ourselves. Having a sense of FOMO helps you break those boundaries and do things which you never thought you are capable of.
2. Treat it as a skill addition and not as confirming to new standards. For e.g. I always considered networking as a necessary ‘evil’ and hence I was never able to get myself to it. But when I changed the narrative to adding a new skill of ‘making friends, improved communication skills’ it was much easier to calm my loud ethical mind.
3. Lastly, I think at the end of the day it can make you a better judge of things and situations. Every time I am anxious about something, I just go back to my drawing board of my individual values, my personal and professional goals and see if that “thing” fits. I am a person driven by logic hence this process sticks and the chapter closes in my head. Find your own process to evaluate what should matter and what shouldn’t.
So, I am hoping I have been able to spark that small thought in your head that “Maybe FOMO is not all that bad”. Now let’s look at some of the negatives (because hey, unbiased).
1. If can create triggers in our head which lead to stresses in everyday life. We wont find joy/happiness in most activities since we are anxious about the “what ifs”
2. In the race of being a part of the group norm, a lot of times we might waste our energy and resources in doing things which doesnt comform to our individual value system
3. In this vast sea of information, and such a rapid progress in literally every field, there is no end to this anxiety; it just keeps shifting from one thing to the other.
At the end of the day, I think every single thought, thing, situation has two sides to it. It depends upon which side do we skew more.
