10 Ways to Overcome Fear of Missing Out

There are always going to be people we admire and perhaps envy. It’s “the grass is greener on the other side” syndrome.

Focusing on the experience—a feeling of accomplishment, adventure, connection, fun, self-respect, freedom—that underlies the object or symbol—wealth, marriage, a sports car, a luxurious home—helps us distinguish what is truly fulfilling from that which can only provide a temporary feeling of pleasure.

Needs are limited. Desires are endless. Accepting the essential futility of trying to fulfill every desire we have is much wiser than indulging all of our impulses for gratification. 

Decide what your highest priorities are and focus on them and cut off other options.

Psychiatrist Edward M. Hallowell describes multitasking as a “mythical activity in which people believe they can perform two or more tasks simultaneously as effectively as one.” 

When people attempt to apply themselves to too many tasks at a time, they are usually unsuccessful. When they are focused on a single task, and give their full attention to it, not only are they more likely to be successful in producing a high quality result, but their level of satisfaction while performing the task is much higher.

Rather than desperately seeking rock star recognition, cultivate the mastery of enjoying mundane pleasures. 

Invest time and energy in relationships and cultivate the skills that they require.

This may be one of the best things that we can do to bring higher levels of fulfillment into our lives, which is a wonderful antidote to the compulsive activity that characterizes FOMO.

Take time to linger over pleasurable experiences rather than rushing through them in quest of the next thrill. Really smell the coffee (and the roses and the other delightful scents that you encounter). 

FOMO is fear of not having something that is necessary for our well being. 

Gratitude allows us to count the blessings in our life right now, in this moment, where life is actually going on.

Let yourself take pleasure in the the heightened level of relaxation and ease that comes into your life as you gift yourself with these experiences. It’s not just you—everyone in your life that benefits from losing FOMO!