Life isn’t easy, and as much as we try to convince ourselves that everyone’s on the same level, life isn’t fair. Some people have it better than others, people you’ve met throughout your life may have better-living situations, and others have broken through their ceiling and risen to financial success.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with looking up to these individuals, and we are by no means trying to downplay the hard work and effort they’ve invested to reach that point in their life. But, for the person on the brink of financial setback and in need of help, the fear of missing out can be hazardous.
Momentary Brainwash
Infamously known as FOMO, while scrolling through your feed and refreshing to stay updated on the latest things around your peers may seem harmless at first, you are unconsciously comparing your situation to theirs. You may end up seeing some old college friends having the best time of their lives at a party out of the country, and it makes you feel bad, wishfully hoping you could be there as well.
The fear of missing out takes you on a momentary brainwash, it makes you forget everything, and your mind refuses to listen to reason. As a result, you’re falling victim to FOMO and are holding yourself liable to the facade of social media standards.
Makes You Act on Impulse Decisions
The first sign of FOMO is when you become irrational and start acting on impulse decisions to make yourself “feel” better. You try eating out at an expensive restaurant, getting yourself a brand new car, ordering things online, and all to keep score with everything else you see on your feed.
You make financially irresponsible decisions, ruin your budget for the month, and further set yourself back when you were already in a tough spot to start. The fear of missing out feeds off your insecurity and forces you on a downward spiral of further pain and agony.
Feeds You Negativity
The second sign of FOMO is a change of behavior, and your mind starts working off negativity. Instead of adopting an optimistic mindset and capitalizing on every opportunity that comes your way, you’ll be stuck fixated on comparing your life to others and be too down to do anything productive.
You could have been on track for a promotion in your human resources management career or be working on a side gig as an indie writer, but FOMO will keep you reeling back in and focusing on the negatives. It sets you up for failures and bars you from attaining any sense of financial success.
Breaks Down Plans
Last but not least, it puts you at the risk of backtracking on all the progress you’ve made on your financial journey and breaks down the plans you’ve been following to reach a better future. Coming back from a financial setback all depends on how well you can follow and execute a plan, and this can all come crashing down when FOMO gives you tunnel vision.
Budgets fall apart, and then you convince yourself that you’re starved of fun and excitement in your life, triggering a destructive episode of overspending and financial irresponsibility.
How to Fight It?
Luckily, despite how scary falling victim to FOMO sounds, it’s not impossible to overcome. And if you put your heart and a little elbow grease into considering change, you won’t find it difficult to fight.
#1 Take a Break from Social Media
While social media presents itself as a communication tool that encourages worldwide interconnectedness, your feed can be filled with “sensationalized and glamorized content.” Lifestyles that are framed to be picture perfect for making you feel jealous and get you to react.
Of course, while this is mostly subjective and varies from person to person, we suggest that you take a break from social media and give yourself peace. There’s nothing wrong with stepping away from the social chaos, and it might just be what you need to get rid of FOMO.
#2 A Change of Pace
If you’re hung up on FOMO, an excellent way to escape that fear is by introducing a change of pace into your life and excluding a weekend specifically for fun. Allow yourself to enjoy a hobby, pick up a book, or maybe binge a series you’ve been itching to watch.
The idea here is to get your mind off of those negative feelings and entertain positivity instead. Plus, you don’t have to spend a lot of money just enjoying some R&R over the weekend!
#3 Try Mindfulness Practices
The fear of missing out stems from looking outward and unjustly comparing your life to others, so why not look inward and reflect on the things you’ve accomplished? Try spending some time in meditation to clear your mind and maybe go on a walk to keep you grounded. Take in deep breaths and seek gratitude over greed.
It may seem challenging at first, but we can guarantee that mindfulness practices are effective and a great way to prime your body, mind, and soul for productivity.
You’re Not Missing Out
Overall, we want to emphasize that you are not missing out on anything. Everyone’s life is different, and it would be wrong to compare yourself to others. You could be at rock-bottom, but that doesn’t mean you should give in to temptations. Let reason and rational thinking take over and seek financial contentment over FOMO.