Am I missing out?
Being mindfully grateful about what I have requires concentrated thought. Concentrated thought requires me to peacefully pause and examine. Peacefully pausing is difficult at times. But I can do it. When I want to. I don’t want to miss out on the excitement of life and try my best to pay attention even when there is a lot going on. Everyone likes to join in on the fun.
You can’t make me
When I was young, I certainly uttered the obstinate words of every child, “You can’t make me.” The result of that remark depended on who it hit. There was always a clear winner and an unsatisfied loser. Controlling others is a worthless project because it just wastes everyone’s time. The truth is that no one can make me do anything. I am not a spy who endures torture to behave in a certain way. And even spies have some secret devices to thwart their enemies.
I can’t make me either
Fear of not getting in on something nags away at my joyability. There is a lot of missing out going on these days and it is easy to feel like there are fewer ways to enjoy life. Somehow, random other really good things happened that I wasn’t looking for but I didn’t immediately notice them as such. When I substituted them for the lost things, I was able to mindfully stop and wonder if they were the replacements. I needed to make myself open up to the new possibilities sooner to enjoy them more.
FOMO
Fear is such a bummer. Unless it is alerting me to a lion that is stalking me, it really doesn’t help much. It makes me think thoughts that are not true and interferes with my ability to cleanly handle what is right in front of me. The fear of missing out sounds so pretentious. I am not accustomed to only having the best in life. Adding a layer of comparison is not necessary. The unweighted scales of good vs bad in life help me really appreciate what I am missing. I am missing nothing. Thinking a truthful thought about any situation really puts it into perspective. The fear disappears and my peaceful pause rewards me by eliminating any additional spiraling. Ah, fear not.
Who thought up this useless acronym FOMO? Can you elevate your ordinary life to provide more satisfaction? Why don’t we think of every moment that way?
