“This is the most beautiful place on earth. There are many such places.”- Edward Abbey
I have a serious self-diagnosed psychological hang-up and it’s likely that you have it, too. You probably don’t know you have it simply because nobody has labeled it or drawn out the symptoms for you. Some people have a more extreme case of it than others and it’s very likely an epidemic of the younger generations. In fact, if you’ve got a bad case of it, it’s likely that it’s effecting your daily life in ways you don’t know. It’s called FOMO – Fear of Missing Out. The concept was introduced to me back in college and I’ve used the acronym to justify my actions to myself since then. Clearly, the concept has really gown on me and I’d like to share it with you.
According to Oxford Dictionaries (which added the word in 2013) FOMO is “Anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website”. I’d say that’s a pretty spot-on definition. Thank you Oxford! At first glance it seems that FOMO clearly isn’t a good thing. To this I say yes and no. Lets dive in:
FOMO can be an ailment for this simple reason: FOMO comes from unhappiness. If you’re happy with your life you’ll find that you’re indifferent to other people doing fun and interesting things. Personally, I’ve come to find that if I’m unsatisfied with my current situation or not feeling confident with certain aspects of my life my FOMO hits full swing. I find myself checking social media constantly, checking in with friends and family to see what I’m missing out on, and frantically jet setting around the country to catch all the awesome events I just couldn’t miss. However, I believe the following:
FOMO can be an instrument to help you realize you need to alter your course or refocus. If you’ve found yourself in the FOMO cycle you’ve made the first step in identifying it! Now you can use it as a diagnostic tool for your own happiness! My friend group has been using FOMO as a productive aspect of our lives for years. We use the concept as a motivator to participate in more activities, jump into more opportunities, and chase down more possibilities all in the name of ensuring we don’t experience FOMO.
So go ahead! Stop comparing. Stop moping. Start living YOUR life and start refocusing on YOUR motivations. It starts by logging out of Facebook and checking in with your reality.
PHOTO CREDIT FOR THE ABOVE PICTURE GOES TO ALI BRIGGS- THANKS FOR LETTING ME SHARE IT!
PHOTO CREDIT FOR THE ABOVE PICTURE GOES TO ALI BRIGGS- THANKS FOR LETTING ME SHARE IT!