unpacking fomo

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, an 18 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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onto today’s topic: unpacking fomo 👯‍♀️

fomo is the fear of missing out. for example, if you see friends hanging out while you couldn’t, many people get major fomo.

it generally is seen as a bad trait because you aren’t appreciating your own present state, or are easily swayed by others. but, i think it can also be a good mechanism to get out of your comfort zone if it’s acted on. just feeling fomo and being sad won’t do anything.

instead, if you really don’t want to miss out, don’t. go do that crazy thing & it might end up being one of the best experiences of your life.

this balance becomes difficult to maintain when it gets hard to set personal boundaries. it’s important to know your hard limits before letting fomo sweep you away completely. if partying really isn’t your scene, don’t do it. you’re probably not going to make any core, unforgettable memories at a frat (LOL). 🎉 

sometimes, it’s just smaller things. i value my sleep a lot, and yesterday a really fun conversation was seeping pretty late into the night. i got up, said my goodnights and washed my face to get ready for bed, but i heard the excited chatter continue downstairs. an hour of sleep wasn’t that bad of a sacrifice, so i succumbed to the fomo.

i literally went back down and said, “hey i’m back. i got fomo.” we ended up putting together a record player and doing a self-led aerobics class at 1am (???). 😭 

other times, you’re just forced to feel the fomo. i’ll watch my friends’ stories as they experience frosh week in college and think i’m getting left behind. but in reality, i’m moving forward at such an exhilarating pace and have realized that there’s so much to embrace in my own present.

yes, i might feel some fomo here and there, but i know that i’m not really missing out at all. i’m soaking in completely different experiences, and i chose them for a reason. no two paths are the same, there will always be “missing out,” just like how there are things in your life that others are “missing out” on.

do you get fomo?

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