Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a real and increasingly common experience for many business owners, leaders, and entrepreneurs I work with as their business coach.
If left unchecked FOMO can cause stress, anxiety, overwhelm, and a feeling of not being good enough. Fear of missing out lowers self-esteem and self-confidence as we feel we are missing out on something exciting and important.
The rise of social media has created an increase in fear of missing out as people showcase exciting, perfect lives that others aspire to achieve, creating a sense of FOMO.
This fear of missing out leads to constant checking of social media so you don’t feel out of the loop or left out. FOMO also leads to people creating regular updates of their life, showcasing how exciting their life is to help build their self-confidence and self-worth.
If you’re caught up in the FOMO cycle, this article shares 8 ways to overcome the fear of missing out so you can shift your attention away from what others are doing and focus on what matters most to you.
Read also: 5 ways to overcome shiny object syndrome
What is FOMO?
The fear of missing out refers to the perception or feeling that other people are experiencing something more than we are or are achieving a level of success that we don’t currently have. FOMO refers to the ideal we create in our mind of someone else’s life that we want for ourselves and can lower self-esteem and self-worth.
Fear of missing out, or FOMO, means consciously wanting to see and connect with what other people are doing in case you may be missing out on something. Feelings of FOMO are amplified through social media channels where we get to experience people’s perceived perfect life firsthand.
FOMO can be applied to everything in your personal and business life, from the big to the small, but always involves a sense that the person with FOMO is missing out on something important.
Fear of missing out is amplified by constantly comparing yourself to others and by aspiring to be like them, instead of following your path.
8 tips to overcome the fear of missing out
If you want to overcome the fear of missing out, here are 8 tips to get over your FOMO.
1. Focus on achieving your goals
FOMO starts with a lack of clarity around your goals. When you have clarity on your goals and a clear plan and path to achieve your goals, you can worry about yourself and not think about anyone else.
By being clear upfront about your goals, understanding the importance of achieving your goals, and understanding the difference goal achievement will make in your life, you won’t worry about what anyone else is doing.
Set goals that are exciting and paint a picture of a visually compelling future that you want to achieve for yourself. Build measurements and deadlines into your goal setting and celebrate progress and achievements along the way.
2. Appreciate what you have
Fear of missing out often happens when you don’t fully appreciate what you have. When you appreciate what you have and are grateful for everything you have, then there is no more FOMO. Fear of missing out is created from a scarcity mindset, while gratitude and appreciation come from an abundance mindset.
FOMO lowers your self-confidence whilst appreciation increases your self-worth and self-esteem. Take a moment to list everything that you appreciate and are grateful for in your life. Think about the things that make you happy and expand those things.
3. Stop FOMO by focusing inwards
Fear of missing out is created from an external desire to have or experience something that other people have, are currently doing, or have achieved. To overcome FOMO, focus inwards. Focus on yourself and everything you have in your life. Your capabilities, your confidence, your relationships, your achievements, your purpose.
Get clear on what’s most important to you, and what other people are doing won’t matter so much. You will have your path and plan to follow.
4. Be more intentional
Being intentional is about getting clear upfront about what you want and what is most important to you. When you have that clarity, you have a higher sense of purpose.
That sense of purpose gives you more direction, capability, and self-confidence. Your time and energy become more important because you have clear goals and a clear plan.
With this focus, you choose where to invest your time and energy. You can then choose to experience FOMO, or not.
5. Turn off notifications
Fear of missing out thrives when we are inundated with notifications from people in our life sharing their experiences, whether real or not. If we consume multiple social media platforms and have a large network, the constant pinging throughout the day can cause ongoing FOMO.
Achieving your goals takes focus. When you are working on your most important projects or spending time with the people that matter most, turn off your notifications. Be present in the moment to avoid experiencing FOMO.
6. Celebrate achievements
Building morale, momentum, and motivation in your business and life can ensure you don’t experience fear of missing out. FOMO often happens when things aren’t going so well or your self-confidence is low.
This causes people to gaze enviously at what other people have or are doing. The key to overcoming the fear of missing out is to simply focus on what is going well, however big or small.
Take ten minutes at the end of each day to write down three things that went well or you achieved that day. Do this every day and your self-confidence, motivation, and achievements will grow. What we focus on expands. We can choose to expand FOMO or expand our focus on achievements.
7. Spend more time with the people that matter most
Much of FOMO happens through engaging with people and content on social media, often from people that we don’t know very well. Instead, invest your time and energy in the people that matter most in your life.
Get clear on the people and things that matter to you. Then, create more real world experiences and life-changing memories.
8. Focus on gratitude
Be grateful for everything you have now, and what you want to create in the future. Cultivating an attitude of gratitude and abundance can help you overcome stressful and envious feelings by focusing on what you have.
Focus on working towards achieving your goals and celebrating progress along the way. Send a note to the people that are most important to you. Create a gratitude journal and write down what you’re grateful for.
A gratitude focus will help you overcome the fear of missing out and create an abundance mentality. Read more about creating a gratitude mindset.
Summing up
Fear of missing out is a paralysing trap that is easy to fall into. It can rob you of your self-confidence and self-esteem and create anxiety and stress.
The way to overcome FOMO is to focus on what you have, express gratitude and appreciate everything good in your life and focus on your path, and plan to achieve your goals.
Now I’d love to hear from you.
What’s the biggest thing that cause you FOMO?
How do you overcome FOMO?
Let me know in the comments.
About the Author
Mark Pettit is a small business coach to business owners who want to simplify their time, energy and focus so they can multiply their freedom, impact and results.
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