FOMO & what's next?

As a society we are always looking to what’s next, what’s new. Always focused on what else. Always looking to lunch time or quitting time or the weekend. The new iPhone XI, the next season of whatever show, the IPO that’s coming up next week.

Why is that? Why do we always look forward to the next instead of focusing on now? When did this tremendous FOMO (fear of missing out) come about? I don’t have the answer, it’s more of a rhetorical question to generate thought. I don’t mean to imply I want you to wonder about the next blog post, but instead quit missing everything going on right now.

This is most evident, magnified to 10x, when I see people at a live event (concert, sporting event, something they paid to attend) staring at their phone. Why can’t we enjoy the moment instead of looking at everything else that the rest of the world is doing.

This is also very evident at meals. Instead of focusing on the taste, the smells, the conversation, the experience of a meal, people look down at their phones while nearly oblivious to what they are putting into their mouth. Maybe this is contributing to the obesity epidemic, maybe it’s not. All I know is that you can’t enjoy a crawfish boil while staring at your phone. Gotta have both hands to peel!

Put down your phone, enjoy the company around you, or simply savor the silence.

In a crowded, crazy, bombardment of messages to our consciousness a little less noise might be just the ticket to lower stress.

I hope you enjoyed this little break in the chaos brought to you by yours truly. I know I feel better each time I cut off the noise and focus on the present.

Cheers!