March To Your Own Beat
F.O.M.O is dumb
I always wanted to do what everyone else was doing throughout life, even if it was at the expense of a more wholesome experience.
Always competing and measuring my life to others. It’s sad.
Living to subside the fear of missing out led me to lose sight of who I was. What did I care about and value? I had no answers for a long time.
It took me just about 22 years to internalize the idea that my time on earth should be spent doing things I genuinely find meaningful. Even if it isn’t the most lavish and exciting thing to others, it’s what I want to do, and that’s okay.
The funny thing about this mindset is that it assumes that there is a right way to live.
A wise friend at 2 am described his overcoming of FOMO like this.
“I had to change my outlook on everything that I experienced. For instance, if I were to go to a party, I’m not merely going to that party and being an observer of this event. If I go to said party, I want to BE that party, fully immersed in the experience.”
I found out exactly what I did and did not want to be doing by playing follow the leader. It boiled down to listening to my intuition and not being afraid to remove myself from situations that did not fit who I was.
I did not realize that in this conscious act, I would find people who walk life in the same manner that I do. And if that warrants missing out on certain aspects of life here and there… then so be it. I’d rather be with two of my best friends in the middle of nowhere bar kicking back with a couple of beers than a bustling party feeling alone in a crowded room.
