Do you have FOMO?

Fear of Missing Out- when you google FOMOyou will fine a wiki definition:  “Fear of missing out or FOMO is a pervasive apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent.  This social angst is characterized by a desire to stay continually connected with what others are doing.”

BTW- this phrase is now out of style, but it’s still a common occurrence.  In the “olden days”, it was a bit like keeping up with the Joneses- maybe you have been seeing friends’ and family’s 

I Warn you:  WATCH OUT for FOMO–this is for Business Leaders, too!

Let’s apply that to business: Missing out on a (or the) business opportunity.  Do you have that fear, watch out!  You can – and will be manipulated if you have this fear!

Remember- it is almost always a very bad decision, when it is made on a basis of fear.

Negative effects:

Susceptible to advertising

One of the most common “advertising” tricks is this:  You may be missing out on your best opportunity.  Lately I have seen it in German, “Achtung! Aufgepassed!” and almost every day something comes into my email in-box saying that I may be missing “the opportunity of my life”.  Whosays?  Those people really want my time, my money, but they really don’t want me and who I am. Be careful not to accept this kind of play.

For example, today there was someone at our door wanting to tell us about/sell us home security devices.  Our youngest responded with, “What could they really steal from us, anyway?”.  We have very little that someone else would want, and it is a good life we have chosen.

Pressured into quick/poor decisions

Often the salesperson add a phrase, “limited time offer”.  This is a ploy to make you decide too quickly before you can reflect.  It’s one principal of what Dr. Robert Cialdini calls the “6 principals of persuasion”: the principle of Scarcity.  It calls people to action when there is, most likely, no need for it at the moment.  Be careful and do not be pressured.  The opportunity will probably come around again and be offered by the same firm or person.  Take your time, a decision based on fear is usually not a good one.

Frozen - overwhelmed by too many opportunities

Sometimes there are too many choices, too many opportunities.

Are you overwhelmed?  Join the rest of the world in this and work on ways to filter.  For many of us there is too much information and there are too many opportunities for any one human being to comprehend  You have to deal with your finiteness, and find ways that help you to be yourself and not be pressured in your decisions.  Do not let the options rule you- you must choose and rule over your choices.  

Are you still stuck with FOMO, then read below for some advice:

How to avoid FOMO in life and business

Find your passion and choose your goals accordingly

This helps the most.  If you have a passion for something(s) those other pressuring opportunities will seem shallow and a waste of your time.  You will be able to see the right opportunities and delete the other ones immediately from your email.  I love that delete button.  A lot!

Make your goals SMART

Most of you know this- but if you have specific, measureable, agreedupon (by the group/team), reachable(or realistic), and with aTimeline, you have great goals and can reach them!  This will allow you to see if those opportunities fit with your goals and trash all that don’t.  Keep your GOALS SMART.  Nebulous goals will lead to indecision and wishy-washy actions.  It also makes you quite susceptible to FOMO.

Keep your focuson your goals, and intentionally filter out “all the junk”

Focus can really bring about success in a way that is almost unexplainable, rather miraculous.  So, keep your focus on your goalsand all else will wash away like dust on your windshield.  You will be happier, healthier and much less stressed, as well as not as susceptible to FOMO.

Have a wonderful FOMO-free week! Should you want to join my group on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7041402

Patricia Jehle

patricia@jehle-coaching.com