When I decided to, once again, step back from social media, something that almost stopped me was the fear of missing out (FOMO). I had spent several weeks working on my social media content, creating and post more videos and slowly (at a snail’s pace) watching engagement climb. Yes, I made progress but I wasn’t truly committed.
Still, that didn’t stop me from reaching for my phone to check for views, likes, and comments. And after months of working hard to reduce my screen time, I watched it soar—and struggled to rein it in. That was when I knew I had to get past this, often perceived, fear of missing out.
Your Time is Limited
When we spend our time worrying about what we’re potentially missing out on, we’re not really present to what we’re doing. We can end up on autopilot, going through the motions. The worst part is that we miss out on keeping the main thing the main thing.
I try to always keep at the front of mind something Steve Jobs said: “Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” It’s easy to get lost in social media, to see what other contemporaries are doing, and then, involuntarily or not, comparing yourself to them. While in some cases, perhaps, that can inspire you to do better, it can also demotivate. Comparison can be, as Theodore Roosevelt pointed out, “the thief of joy.” But it doesn’t have to be, if we’re willing to do the hard thing and limit our time on social media—or better manage any distraction preventing us from keeping the main thing the main thing.
The Fear of Mission Out
It’s been a little more than two weeks since I’ve gone off the grid, and while I still find myself reaching for my phone, my screen time has plummeted. Because I removed all my social media apps from my phone (I didn’t make the mistake of deleting my accounts this time). But in this short period of time, I’m back to writing more. Every day, I’m either getting to the gym or out for a run.
When I told myself I didn’t have enough time, getting past the fear of missing out let me ‘find’ time. I’m staying focused on what matters, taking to heart Pablo Picasso’s advice to “only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.”
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