FOMO: What is it and 6 Tips to Avoid it

The fear of missing out. We all get it at times but how can we avoid it? Especially when we are experiencing a set-back. Set backs are a normal part of any athletes life. If you’ve run long enough I am sure you have noticed how good training and racing ebbs and flows. Sometimes  we are rocking our training and racing strong while other times we struggle and/or get injuries. 

The truth is being afraid of missing out on something can steal the joy of the amazing things we could be experience of right now. So my first tip is to stay present. Find the joy in today. To do this I keep a daily gratitude journal. I highly suggest it. Here’s a short video I made about it.

Over the 30 years I have coached and competed I have seen my fair share of setbacks and I can’t say enough about how keeping a gratitude journal has helped get me  through the hard times. 

My second tip is understand that the feeling/moment is temporary. If you’ve ever run a marathon you can attest to the moments where you feel like you cannot take another step or even finish but that moment passes and we get through it and finish. We take that next step. While severe injuries can be a major set back generally we can know that we can just keep moving forward even if progress is slow. This leads me to my third tip.

Focus on what you CAN do. Often set backs allow us to focus on other things. I remember having an umbilical cord hernia from pregnancy fixed and I could not run for a time but used the time to hone my cycling pedal stroke skills for triathlon training. I don’t think I would have seen that much progress in that area without the set-back so in the end it really helped me. 

Staying busy also helps. 

When we concern ourselves too much with what others are doing we don’t spend the time working on ourselves. There is peace with action. Stay busy doing what you can to make progress with your health. Health is more than just physical. Maybe it’s time to work on mental health or start practicing meditation. 

Another tip is to learn to be happy for others and understand that activity ebbs and flows for everyone. All of us have times we are down and out. It helps to be happy and cheer for others. We all need that. Focus on supporting others can take our focus away from our own struggles and share in others joy. Most likely they will support you when you need it too. 

My final tip is: Recognize and limit triggers. If you notice you experience more FOMO while on social media, limit that activity or take a break. We all know that social media can be a time-suck so limit your time or avoid it all together for a time. Also understand we can’t possible be involved in every fun activity! 

Summary: 

1. Stay present
2. Understand it’s temporary
3. Focus on what you CAN do
4. Stay busy working on yourself and other areas of health. There is peace in action. 
5. Be happy and support others 
6. Limit triggers and social media activity