FOMO. Fear Of Missing Out. It usually feels like you’re trying to pack more into the allotted time or space, and I believe it is slowing you down.
Shiny Object Syndrome
You know how it goes. You’ve decided to do certain things. Then other things come along that might be beneficial. So you add those to the list. Eventually you end up exhausted, overwhelmed, and often at a standstill (or at least a crawl) because there are just too many things.
All those things can throw you off balance. They can make it hard to see where you’re going. And because you’re spreading your energy all over the place, you don’t really get much done, so you’re really wasting energy that could be used to accomplish something. Anything.
What If It’s Not The Right Choice?
I remember a friend of mine talking about her son years ago. She said he would get really worked up whenever they went out to eat, because he couldn’t decide what to order from the menu. And after he’d made the choice, he didn’t really enjoy it because he kept wondering if another choice would have tasted better. I always felt sorry for him, that he could never enjoy the experience or the food because of that.
Many of us do the same thing with our lives in general. We worry so much about choosing things that will give us the most benefit that we can’t move forward. Being stuck sucks!
Too Many Choices Caused Overwhelm For Me
I remember when I first started Aligned Consciousness.
- I needed to have a website.
- I needed to be posting 3 times a day on 4 different social media platforms.
- I needed to start a blog and send out newsletters – preferably do both weekly.
- And network.
- And create offers.
- And (I forget the rest).
I finally came to my senses (and/or gave up) and decided to focus on networking and one social media platform (Facebook). Whew! What a relief. I could get something done and also spend some time doing something other than work without feeling guilty.
And Then What?
Once that became comfortable, I added the website. Then the blog – but monthly. Then the newsletter – also monthly. I eventually added LinkedIn and found that it’s a better place for me to connect with people, so I shifted most of my attention from Facebook to LinkedIn, for social media. I have friends who swear by other platforms, but I’m not ready to add a new platform and may never be. I’m okay with that. I check in every so often to see if I still feel balanced – I cut back wherever I feel I’m being drained. And I don’t spend energy worrying about what I might be missing. I focus on moving forward on the items I’ve chosen that feel right to me. And if or when they don’t feel right, I stop doing them.
Belief Relief
How would it feel to pick just one reasonably good action, one that you feel good about, and try that for a while and see what happens? Stick with it until it’s working well or you don’t feel good about it anymore. Then pick the next thing.
Sometimes we have these beliefs that we can’t succeed if we aren’t working hard (which can translate into “frantic”). That doesn’t serve you well if you are so overloaded that you can’t move forward. If you need to shift some of those beliefs so that you can see your next step and have the energy to take it, I can help with that. Give me a call!
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