FOMO … I have it, do you?

I’m sick. Well, not so much physical but I don’t won’t to add another psychological personal dystopia to my list, it’s getting too long. FOMO. Maybe you struggle too.

Last night were two election town halls, on competing outlets. And I don’t have either station on my streaming list. I had to follow along on Twitter, catch the update snippets offered on other outlets, and wait till after the deeds to get my ‘fix.’

It isn’t the first time. I hate talking to people about Netflix series (another streaming platform not in my household right now). My son and his wife have been hooked by Cobra Kai. Oh, well.

I guess I could pirate his account, but I will suffer in my FOMO.

FOMO … fear of missing out.

I struggle to be in the know. I feel awkward and anxious when there is something I miss out on. I will listen to news, read all my emails to see if there’s something that I can’t miss (like publishers clearing house trying to get ahold of me), and scroll Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Parler. I shudder being behind the curve and missing out.

Low self esteem? Arrogance? Weird curiosity? I prefer to say it’s a thirst for knowledge, and knowledge is power (that’s what my professors told me.)

A few years ago, I was part of a witness training … equipping myself to share the most important message of hope, the greatest story of love, and the most powerful victory in struggles that ripples through eternity. Exciting and serious. But it was election night.

I had voted. I did my civil duty. Now it was a 24 hour waiting game. But in my group of friends, there was a man that was so anxious, so high strung that night … FOMO … he had to leave early so he could get home and watch the results come in.

God has a sense of humor too. That was the year of hanging chads. And the results, well Florida’s results, came later – much later. That man’s FOMO went on and on.

Marketing firms use our FOMO to sell their wares. Movies and TV shows push FOMO to rein in viewers. And the biggest culprits – social media. They are giants in the list of people that manipulate and give us FOMO.

In relation to this, I learned a new phrase … JOMO. The Joy of Missing Out. Sometimes we need to unplug, retreat, cut the cord, and let go. The biblical word is Sabbat. We need to rest. We need to have a time to turn away from worldly needs and focus on spiritual. Spending time alone and time alone with God.

Maybe if we had more FOMO about spending time with God, we would get away from the disturbances and actually be still and know He is God. Let worldly FOMO turn to JOMO because the joy is our getting alone with God and resting. Try it. You’ll love it.

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For those that clicked on to see how to help your FOMO baby sleep, go to this website.