I remember listening to a podcast episode featuring Patrick James McGinnis. He talked about the fear of missing out or more popularly known as its acronym, FOMO. I don't remember the name of the podcast, but it was informative and made me think if I had experienced FOMO.
I can describe FOMO as the feeling of anxiety whenever a person thinks that they are missing out on fun, enjoyment, benefits, and opportunities and believes that other people are having the opposite experience -- they are making the most out of a situation.
Browsing social media is the best platform to likely experience FOMO. Social media has evolved to always show the most attention-grabbing posts, which are most probably the happiest, best experiences your friends or other people have had. Think of posts that are about buying a shiny, new car, traveling to a foreign country, and stock values going up (GME; to the moon anyone?). Now, pay attention to what you feel. Personally, whenever posts like that, I sometimes get sad and think, "That could have been me."
Thankfully, a couple of deep breaths rids my anxiety. Even more fortunate is that anyone could do the same and can have the power to not be affected at all. So what if someone is having fun and making their lives better? Good for them! We can always work on ourselves and create opportunities.
I choose to look at the brighter side. If all the people in the world are running in a marathon, it is only natural that there would be some folks in front of me and at my back. To me, the important thing is I keep on running.
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