Heres why having some FOMO is a good thing.
FOMO sucks when it starts to affect your life that way.
I think youshouldfear missing out a little bit.
Sounds grand, doesnt it?
Maybe youre afraid youre missing out on things because, well,you are.
Fear of missing out is your ticket out of your comfort zone.
Every second of every day awesome things are happening and youre not a part of them.
But those thoughts dont have to cripple youthey can drive you.
Use your fear of missing out as motivation.
To do that, youll have to learn when you should and shouldnt fear missing out.
The kind of fear that pushes you to new exciting places.
This fear is good.
This fear is your friend.
So whenshouldyou fear missing out?
Maybe youve been holding yourself back.
Let your fear motivate you to do the same thing, or find out how they got started.
Theyre the only thing youre guaranteed to keep the rest of your life.
Overwhelming research showsexperiences matter more to us than things.
Sometimes its good to focus on the greater good.
You might even make a new friend, or better understand who the people you work with really are.
Worrying too much about what other people are doing is bad, we know that.
However, having no fear at all can be just as bad.
Like most things, its about balance.
The next time something comes up, ask yourself Am Iafraidof missing out?
Or am Iactuallymissing out?
You shouldnt judge what youre missing out on solely from what you see on social networks, for example.
Theyre an all you’ve got the option to eat look what I did!
Steves life is not all awesome all the time.
Its important you keep the right mindset while you scroll through your news feed or Twitter stream.
And it doesnt hurt tocurate your social online grid feedsto be something less FOMO-inducing.
If youre tired of Steves adventures, unfollow his posts.
Every time you get in itll be like something poking and prodding you to finally make a move.
The fear of missing out oninformation,like news and gossip, should also be avoided.
You dont need to know that Sally is on her way to the gym.
Youre never going to be tested on your knowledge of whos dating who in Hollywood.
Youre not going to feel more secure byobsessing over a recent tragedy.
Not knowingeverythingdoesnt make you ignorant, so theres no reason to fear being out of the loop.
Finally, you should never fear missing out on thingsyou already know you dont like.
Identify the things you would actuallyenjoymissing out on.
I even bought my own copy just so I could practice.
Once I realized that, fear turned to joy.
To turn your fear into motivation, do the same thing.
Find out what your Smash is, and free yourself from it.
Illustration by Jim Cooke.
