Simply put, the fear of missing out aka FOMO is the apprehension that friends or the people around you are enjoying a rewarding experience without you.
The fear of missing out can come in numerous ways. Perhaps your friends went on a holiday to Greece without you, or maybe you missed a big house party because you had some work to do. Such situations can create an irrational fear of being left behind or even regret and inadequacy of not being part of that experience!
No matter what it is, FOMO can frustratingly damage your mindset, particularly your focus and level of productivity in day-to-day life.
These are just a few of the qualities and traits of FOMO and even suffering just one of them can be severely damaging to your personal life!
Find out the key reasons why FOMO is prohibiting your productivity and focus and how you can tackle it right now!
If you ever wonder why you’re overdosing on procrastination and simply struggle to maintain a sharp mind and focus, consider if the fear of missing out is clouding your mind…
Suspecting that you might be missing out on something fun or of great value to you such as a job offer that had a great salary that you rejected or a fun night out with your mates can be severely distracting to whatever important work you might need to be doing.
This FOMO is probably the exact reason you continue to check your phone; you continuously scroll through stories on Instagram, Snapchat, and any social media expecting to find your friends engaging in fun activities and opportunities without you and the underlying fear of missing them frustrates you!
It’s these constant habitual checks of your phone that are inevitably going to disrupt your workflow and ultimately stop you from finishing tasks that require deep concentration and attention.
Whatever it is, do everything in your power to make your phone less distracting and stop yourself from reminiscing over other people’s lives. If you want a sharp mind, focus, and better productivity, you MUST focus on yourself instead!
This point technically adds to the previous point about FOMO being a distraction and causing you to lack focus.
Essentially, if you are distracted and lacking focus, you no longer have the sharp mind you need to be productive; you’re vulnerable to other activities that will attract you and repel you from the tasks, goals or perhaps jobs that you consider as important or valuable to you!
To be more specific, the fear of missing out will lead to procrastinating through activities such as scrolling on social media or lying down, over-thinking and being frustrated. It’s a fact that overthinking is harmful for your mental health, which is not good considering that it lays the foundations for the effects of FOMO!
Dividing your attention means that you’re unable to focus on one thing and one thing only…
I’d highly recommend reading the book “The Power of focus” by Jack Canfield, a book that can teach you the importance of focusing on one sole goal.
A great quote that emphasizes the importance of focus from Canfield’s book can be derived from his definition of a goal:
” A GOAL IS THE ONGOING PURSUIT OF A WORTHY OBJECTIVE UNTIL ACCOMPLISHED.”
The key to accomplishing a goal is to have an “ongoing pursuit” of it.
If we cloud our minds with this fear of missing out on whatever events or opportunities seem compelling to us, our pursuit of that goal will be hindered.
You’re putting mental roadblocks in front of you which are these worries or frustrations of not being part of something that will prevent you from achieving an objective or goal and this is what leads to a severe downgrade in productivity!
There are so many inspirational quotes in Canfield’s book which I’d highly recommend looking at as well!
FOMO is one of the hundreds of other ways you can develop stress and anxiety!
As mentioned above, mental exhaustion is just one of the many symptoms of overthinking, a major side-effect of the fear of missing out, but why is this?
Well, it’s simple…
FOMO is an entirely mental effect and the majority of the symptoms are simply due to over-thinking.
For example, the fear of missing out generally will lead to you wanting to constantly compare yourself to other peoples’ lives as well as have this perceived idea of social exclusion from your friends or whoever you feel is excluding you from their activities or “fun” opportunities.
This will severely exhaust your mind and unnecessarily stress you out because whatever you’re perceiving may not be as bad as you think it is. These ideas clouding your mind only fuel your feelings of inadequacy, self-doubt, and sometimes even betrayal, all of which do not help to relax your mind and only fuel your anxiety.
If you’re someone looking to recover or get away from FOMO, I’d highly regard this exact point as one of the most important reasons for your loss in productivity – external validation.
External validation – the constant need to chase approval or recognition from other people.
The need to chase such recognition and approval can often mean that you forget your motives or goals because you feel the need to fit in instead of stand out and chase your motivations.
In a way, one could call this a herd mentality, because the fear of missing out encourages you to want to share the same experiences or opportunities as the people you surround yourself with or who you see on social media.
For example, it might be the sight of a young man on a beach in the Bahamas that has given you this fear of missing out on opportunities to experience the beauty of the world, travel, and embracing new cultures in your youthful years.
This distraction causes you to fall into their shadow and try to copy what they do instead of focusing on your own goals and motivations. In doing so, you try to seek validation from those around you.
This is a key reason why many of us struggle when it comes to personal growth and trying to become a better YOU!
Once again, it cannot be emphasized how bad external validation can be in inhibiting your productive potential. When choosing to chase approval and recognition due to FOMO, you end up also avoiding personal reflection.
FOMO is associated with an outward-looking approach, which means you constantly look over the activity of other people instead of your own. In other words, you aren’t looking at your own goals, motives, intentions, or personal aspirations.
If you want to focus on personal growth there are a few key aspects you must consider: self-reflection, learning, and planning.
Suffering from the fear of missing out and hence having an outward-looking approach is only going to cause you to not reflect on your actions, but instead on the actions of others, so how are you going to learn from your actions or mistakes if you don’t reflect on yourself?
What this means is that you’re not allowing yourself any room for personal growth and if you aren’t focusing on your personal growth, you aren’t being productive!
Just because social media and the feeling of exclusion can make it easy to suffer from FOMO, doesn’t mean it’s impossible to combat it!
1. Avoid/minimize your social media use – Social media is what fundamentally fuels your FOMO. If you want to avoid FOMO, cut your social media use.
Set yourself a limited period per day where you can allow yourself to scroll on social media or lock away your phone until you’ve completed a task or piece of work. For more details, click here on ways to overcome laziness and procrastination.
2. Always set clear goals and self-reflect on your progress toward achieving them – Write a clear goal or aim that you want to achieve and keep it embedded in your mind. Perhaps writing it on paper and putting it on your bedroom wall or fridge can help remind you of what you’re striving towards. Doing this can help keep your mind off the fear of missing out on external distractions.
3. Practice your mindfulness – Practicing mindfulness can come in an abundance of ways. As long as you’re relaxing your mind and detoxifying the negativity and anxiety within it, you’re successfully practicing mindfulness. This can be done through activities such as art, wellness retreats, fitness, and even meditation.
When you consider the fact that on average, 56% of social media users experience the fear of missing out, aka FOMO, it’s clear that this is the sole reason for this mental distraction. FOMO is a major and unnecessary feeling that causes overthinking and simply cutting your phone usage can seriously solve so many problems and boost your mental clarity!
You won’t regret cutting your time on social media. You’ll undoubtedly see your FOMO go away…
So start today!
