The Beauty of Missing Out
Learning to show up more for myself before actually 'showing up' for others.
I spent the whole of last week in a constant battle with my mind. I desperately wanted to escape the dependency on my phone but couldn't because my entire life is basically stored in a device.
I found myself checking my phone at least 50 times a day. Every update missed and every text ignored gave me immense anxiety. One fine day, I decided to put my phone away in a drawer. It took me ten minutes to open that drawer to reach for my phone and exactly ten minutes to realise how badly I was tied by the rope of FOMO: The Fear of Missing Out.
An interesting thing about this rope of FOMO is that it slowly directs you towards exhaustion. You say yes to a million things you wanna say no to. You say no to a million things you wanna say yes to. You constantly seek information that does not impact you directly. Information about the places everyone else is visiting, the parties everyone else is attending, the list is endless. For me, FOMO showed up in the little things in my day-to-day. I was choosing to check my phone every second over looking at what was in front of me.
If you feel the same, know that it's normal to feel trapped in this cycle every now and then. And if it’s of any help, this cycle is easier to break than you think. All you need is a simple shift in perspective. All you need to do is to replace FOMO with JOMO, i.e. The Joy of Missing Out.
Instead of running, slow down. Instead of scrolling, look around. Say yes only when you want to say yes. You don’t have to change yourself to fit in. Perhaps there is a part of you that craves joy and inner peace more than it craves external validation. Find that part and hold it tight.
I embraced the joy of missing out by saying no to every situation I knew would trigger urgency inside me and decided to do something I wanted to do: step outside for a walk every day. Sometimes, the beauty of simple things is enough to overpower the need for constant busyness if you intend to focus on these little things in front of you.
This joy of missing out is the key to gaining tremendous wisdom and self-awareness. The sooner you realise that the easier your life will be.
How do you overcome your FOMO? Comment below.
Love the imagery of the “rope of FOMO.” It certainly does feel like a tethering to something beyond yourself, doesn’t it? Great reframe with JOYO! Thanks for sharing
A great inspiration of mine coined the term FOMI- Fear of missing IN!
He realized this rope of FOMO and said to himself, instead of worrying about what’s outside, why am I not concerned about my most important person whom I have a relationship with, myself! I want to experience and connect with that!!