How to get over FOMO

It's the reason why you said "yes" to that party when you really wanted to stay home curled up in a blanket reading "Eat, Pray, Love." It's also the reason why you said "sure," to that guy you weren't so sure about to that indie concert. Oh yeah, and the reason you said "Woohoo, hell yeah!" to your girls trip to Vegas, even though you couldn't afford it. 

Fear of missing out. It's mysterious, but boy, is it real. Let's demystify it, shall we? First we'll go over what Fomo is, then who's most susceptible to it, and finally, how to rise above it.

What is FOMO?

Fomo is defined in a 213 psychological study as, "the uneasy and sometimes all-consuming feeling you're missing out- that your peers are doing, in the know about, or in possession of more or something better than you. Under this framing of Fomo, over 75% of young adults have experienced this phenomenon."

Well damn. 75% of us experience this- but why? How? Let's delve into that next.

Who is most susceptible to FOMO?

Heavy social media users are both more likely to experience and inspire FOMO, as well as those with low levels of life satisfaction, competence and autonomy. 

People who are active on social media are more likely to compare their lives to those also utilizing social media, and may have diminished sense of self worth, rather than gain inspiration, from seeing their peers engage in activities perceived as more fun, or accomplishments one cannot see themselves realistically attaining. People don't see the hard work or the planning that goes into any given boastful post, so it's common to feel jealous of an end result that lives in a vacuum.

How to rise above FOMO?

1. Focus your attention

It may sound intuitive, but if you're focused on other people's lives, and not actively improving or at least contributing to your own, then you'll be sad and anxious, which is FOMO's signal to enter. Show FOMO it's not welcome by planning activities you'd enjoy without a cool picture or video result, just for the heck of it.

2. Choose gratitude

So you're living the life you want, now what? Be grateful for those experiences! It's too easy to think about how crappy a date went, and gloss over the fun day at the beach you had with your friends the day before. It's all about perspective.