The fear of missing out (FOMO) is that feeling when you see others doing interesting activities and the dread you won’t have that same opportunity.
Pretty straightforward, right?
It’s that type of feeling you get when you’re sitting at home on a Friday night and all you see is your Facebook feed with tons of pictures of your friends attending parties, going off on adventures, and having a blast – you feel left out.
This happens in business, too.
- Feeling like you’re not on the cutting edge
- Feeling like you should be a part of a clique
- Feeling like you should be attending an industry event
- Feeling like you don’t have the right skills
- Feeling like your competition is doing bigger and better things
That feeling you get is similar to dread.
You feel down because you’re missing out but there’s one thing you have to remember…
YOU ARE SEEING THEIR HIGHLIGHT REELS
When someone posts an album of their recent trip to the Bahamas what you’re not seeing is the months and months leading up to that adventure where they had to forgo going out and having fun in place of saving for that one moment.
The same happens when you read some business interview where someone talks of their recent success. You don’t really hear about the number of times they’ve failed. Your reaction is based on that one instance and so it gets you into a downer slump.
MAKE EVERY DAY A HIGHLIGHT REEL
Passion burns bright and burns hard.
Instead of placing yourself into a rut because you have this fear of missing out you should put your nose back to the grinding stone and make a great highlight reel for yourself each and every day.
- Accomplish your major task for the day
- Reflect on how far you’ve come
- Pay no mind to their highlights
- Make the day about you
It’s easy to become jealous of others success. When you become too jealous you lose your sharpness because you’re too focused on the others. Stop that!
If you truly feel like you’re missing out on something then take the actions to do something about it.
- Want to be on the cutting edge? Learn new tricks from industry professionals.
- Want to be part of an inner circle? Make the moves and introduce yourself.
- Want to attend an industry event? Clear your calendar and get the tickets.
- Want to learn new skills? Attend a workshop or work through an online course.
- Want to go above the competition? Step up your commitment.
The keyword is fear.
Fear paralyzes you from taking actions.
Get rid of it and you will find yourself on the path to success.
