As a parent of a teenager, it is an enjoyable and a rare event when you can teach them a text abbreviation.
The other day my daughter asked what does FOMO stand for? I laughed and told her (and for those of you who don’t know it’s okay... officially it was added to Oxford Dictionary in 2013) it’s the “fear of missing out”! She said, “oh that’s what that means.”
The “fear of missing out”, stems from the comparisons we make- or what you could maybe call “keeping up with the Joneses”. I wish I had that car, those stock returns, that family, job, vacation, bank account, etc. This focus often leads to discontentment. I would be happier if I had X or Y... so we then covet- or simply put, develop a jealousy, that goes nowhere fast.
I can assure you from the many discussions I have with people, you won’t ever be content with comparisons...there is always someone who has more or that something better, bigger. Even if you “have it all” there is always “more to have”.
Our focus, my focus to fight this fear and game of comparison, is first to seek a mindset of gratitude for the blessings we have. Then you must choose to be content.
Here is the point: What really only matters... is what is matters to you- not someone else. This is the center of conversation with my clients. What are your goals? What is it you want to accomplish? Why is that important? How do you want to accomplish it? This is the measuring stick.
There is no other benchmark to compare to your situation.
Are you content and confident in the progress you are making to achieving your goals?