Have you heard of FOMO – the fear of missing out? This is one of the leading causes of overwhelm because FOMO leads to saying ‘yes’ when you really want to say no.
Underneath FOMO lives an unmet need that is driving our choice to show up; say yes, volunteer, join in…when all we really want is time for ourselves or to do something else entirely.
An unmet need is a ‘need’ that you are not fulfilling within yourself and instead are looking outside of yourself, relying on others, to fill the need.
I’ll use myself as an example. One of my unmet needs was to be accepted. An invitation to anything meant that someone ‘accepted’ me and I would jump to have my need fulfilled. I’ve cancelled ‘me time’, juggled schedules, piled my plate too high and pushed myself to exhaustion to fit this ‘invitation’ into my life, because how can I say “no”, they like me – I’m accepted!
The antidote to FOMO is two-fold…
#1: Identify your unmet need. Knowing what is driving your choices is essential to making change.
#2: Practice JOMO – The Joy Of Missing Out. I love this acronym by Executive Coach and author, Greg McKeown
JOMO means a long soak in the tub; curling up with your favorite book, tea with a special friend, a walk on the beach. JOMO means filling your cup first.
How do you know if it’s FOMO or JOMO you desire? Your emotions! Are you feeling obligated or guilty? It’s FOMO – choose the Joy Of Missing Out!
Now that you know about JOMO, do you think you can work through those FOMO feelings and choose ‘you’? Comment below – I’d love to hear your thoughts.