FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is a new phenomenon. FOMO is related to the anxiety some social media users experience because of all the possible events they could be attending (sports events, parties, restaurants some of their friends are at, travels messages from friends, movies friends are commenting on…the list goes on and on). JOPMA (Joy Of Present Moment Awareness) is an even new term, but a very old and wise way of being.
With FOMO for example, suppose you just read a Facebook post about an outdoor concert tonight. You notice that many people you know are going because they are excitedly posting about it. But, there are also lots of folks you know going to a dance weekend in California and posting about that. And what about all the people telling you how often they are doing yoga, biking, hiking, or taking interesting class that you’re not doing because your sitting looking at social media. What about those friends who all went out to dinner last night at your favorite restaurant – they looked like they were having so much fun and you weren’t there.
My anxiety is increasing just thinking about what I might be missing out on.
In her book The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, Julia Cameron encourages strengthening the creative muscle in all of us. Without specifically stating so, she suggests this happen through minimizing distractions and paying attention to what truly brings us joy. One exercise she suggests is to not read or listen to news or social media for a week. Yikes.
Are you thinking this too hard to do? Hard is not always bad, and the benefits of limited distractions are extraordinary. It can be a gradual and small shift away from FOMO, or a dedicated week of no social media engagement (you might want to warn your friends and family). Either way you are making a shift from Fear to Joy Of Present Moment Awareness (JOPMA).
JOPMA is that state of being where you are in the moment, experiencing all that it brings (heightened senses, peace, awareness of all feelings including sadness or joy, greater self control and patience, more time to do what you enjoy).
In other words, FOMO leads to unsettling distraction while JOPMA leads to more of what you want. Join the JOPMA movement.
One way to find more JOPMA is to keep your attention on your dreams and goals (and not the dreams and goals of your friends on Facebook). You can do this by getting beautifully designed, free, weekly JOPMA clues. For 26 weeks of JOPMA clues, go to Possibility Detectives homepage and sign up for your A-Z Clues-Letters for moving towards your dreams and goals.
Enjoy JOPMA!
Jan facilitates national workshops for therapists and life coaches. She presents at conferences on topics related to holistic psychology and living your dreams.
