Why Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) Is So Dangerous for You and Your Projects

Why the Fear of Being Left Out (FOMO) Is So Dangerous for You and Your Projects

This week, Ricardo talks about FOMO, or "Fear of missing out," which is the anxiety we have when we don't feel included in a specific scenario, causing us to feel unmotivated and have low self-esteem.

New technologies, cryptocurrencies, the metaverse, and artificial intelligence are just examples that can make us feel out of date and like we are falling behind.

The fear of missing out (FOMO) is a normal reaction to the perception that others have some information, knowledge, or relationship that we lack.

What is not normal is the intensity of what we are facing right now. Look especially at social media.

We may learn about innovative technology or a new approach to project management as we work on the project.

The challenge is the desire we usually have to invest in everything new that comes out, and this behavior prevents us from focusing on project results.

Our judgment is impaired, and as a result, we make choices that may not be optimal.

One way out might be another acronym, JOMO, or "Joy of Missing out," which explains that letting something new slip by can be suitable for the project, however counterintuitive.

We need to focus on what needs to be done. Suppose we always try to use the best technologies and methods. In that case, we can fail to deliver the expected primary results.

In addition to destroying team morale, generating an unusual level of anxiety and triggering what we see as the "Great Resignation."

Listen to this week's #5minpodcast to learn more.

Download (10 MB)

Episode transcript

The transcript is generated automatically by Podscribe, Sonix, Otter and other electronic transcription services.

Hello everyone. Welcome to the 5 Minutes Podcast. Today I like to talk about FOMO or fear of missing out, and I know that you may expect that I will talk only about social media, but we will see that this concept deeply affects your behavior and your team's behavior when you are trying to deliver a service or a project. But before we go there, let me explain. What is FOMO or fear of missing out? It's a feeling and a fear that something is happening and you are not participating. You are not part of that. You are not a member of that group. For example, on social media, it is very easy. You go on your Instagram, and you see some of your friends partying, and then you say, Oh, I'm not on this photo, so I am missing out on that. Remember that I recorded this podcast about the five festivals on the island. That was an absolute scam. And most of the people that invested in that scam were deeply affected by the fear of missing out. There is a super party, and I'm out of that, and I cannot be out of that. So this is a psychological and sociological effect. And these, of course, reduce our morale or motivation, making us judge poorly. But why I'm recording this, I'm recording this because the same fear of missing out that happened on your Instagram, that happens on your TikTok or that happens on your LinkedIn profile also happens in your project, in your business, in your product development.

Every single day. There is a new revolutionary management book. Every single day there is a super cool new trend or new technology. There is the metaverse that is the post metaverse that is cryptocurrency. It's every single day. If you go to the Gartner hype cycle, you'll see hundreds of them. And what happens to all of us, including me? I always start with the feeling that I'm late, that something is happening and I'm missing it. Oh, now there is the wave of this, and I missed it. Oh, now there is a wave of that technology or that management style, and I miss it every single day. And what is the consequence of that is that we all become extremely anxious. We all reduce our motivation. We all work with our teams by driving them crazy. And this cloud, our judgment, we will not be able. Many companies have no clue if cryptocurrency or blockchain is something valuable to them. I wrote some articles on that on HBR, and I clearly try to say that. But you know, everybody is implementing blockchain. I must be part of that; otherwise, I'm missing out. And the same as attending the Davos conference. You know, if I'm not there, I'm nobody. So there's always this fear of missing out. And this creates a very challenging environment for you to define your strategy as an organization for your transform and translate that strategy into reality and for you to manage, motivate and keep the morale of your team high because it's always this panic monster around You remember the weight, but why talk that up? For me, it's my favorite talk at TED.com, talking about procrastination, this panic monster that is always surrounding us saying, you are missing out on this; you're missing out.

Remember the clubhouse and social media? It's the same. And what is the answer to that? Because, you know, it's a human condition. It's a psychological effect. And this fear is also self-protection because, for example, imagine as an animal that you see everybody running fast in one direction; what is your instinct to go with them? Because even knowing that you don't know what is behind it, there must be something you don't want to miss and wait to see what is happening. But most of the fears we face today are not necessarily real fears. And then, to defend that is that you need to be comfortable with some items and some trends. Just go. And there is an entrepreneur that created a concept that I just love. It's called a new dash, and he created a concept called Jomo. Jomo. It's the joy. Missing out is the joy of being in control of yourself. It's the focus that you have in your direction and not just following the crowd like everyone else.

And this is one of the best antidotes against this FOMO. And look, I'm not saying that a light feeling of FOMO is bad. No, it's good. But the problem is that it's not light. It's a problem that dominates most of our lives. And it happens in our careers. It happens on our project. It happens in our social life. When you see someone eating magic food somewhere, say, Oh, God, I'm not there. When you see someone's profile on LinkedIn and say, Oh God, she did 65 different courses, and I have only 37 who I'm missing out, I need to do all of them. And look, every single human being has a different journey. Every single company has a different journey. You don't need let's not try to play God's role here and try to do everything. Most of the time I see a dramatic challenge in projects. It's because people are moving in one direction while new alternative routes are opening every single minute. And that's the moment they become experts on starting things and not finishing them. And remember, many times, it's when you finish and you deliver something that you are bringing value to the table. So always think about that. It's a human capacity that we need to work on. I hope you enjoy this podcast and see you next week with another 5 Minutes podcast without fear of missing out.

Menu

Resources & Insights

Products & Services

More Resources & Insights

Ricardo Vargas

Podcasts

Why Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) Is So Dangerous for You and Your Projects

Search in Podcasts

Latest podcast episodes

Book recommendations