*throughout this article, I have included some of my favorite little moments
You know when you go out, and you are standing there, sweating with way too many people standing around and all you want to do is go home? Or when you are laying in your bed on a Friday night and see your friends on Snapchat dancing and having a blast out on the town and you are pissed because you decided to stay in? This feeling, this knot-in-your-stomach, irrational fear is what I like to call “FOMO” or Fear Of Missing Out.
It is a crazy phenomenon that happens to the best of us. We cannot help but think about how green the grass is on the other side. How much fun others are having and about the choice we made and if it was the right one. We are classic overthinkers.
But this fear, this stupid fear, makes me miss out on what I chose to do, what is happening in the present. I could be sitting on the beach thinking only of the football game I was missing back at home, instead of enjoying the warm sun and salty air while making some amazing memories.
FOMO is a distraction from the beauty of what is happening around us. It engulfs our heads and doesn’t let us live in the moment and make the memories we want to remember.
This silly fear of missing out is preventing us from taking in the greatness that God has put right in front of us. It is a perfect excuse to start living in the present, the literal gift that was given to us. Life on Earth is so short and people have so many regrets at the end of their life. If we let this take over, we will miss out on the little things, the important things, the things that really matter. There is no way to get those small little moments back.
Yes, your friends may look like they are having fun without you. Yes, the grass is always greener on the other side. But FOMO cannot overpower us every time. Let’s start being, not only physically, but emotionally and mentally here. I wonder how different our lives would change, how much more amazing our lives would be if we kicked FOMO to the curb and enjoyed our present.
