Replace fear with facts

- While the factors that trigger FOMO may vary, the emotions that they provoke are always the same. Let's say, for example, that you learn that several of your colleagues are working on a project that's generating a lot of buzz in your company. All of a sudden, you feel all kinds of feelings, things like longing, regret, jealousy, stress, and even failure. That's the aspirational FOMO kicking in, and those feelings can be strong. However, at that moment, what you don't feel is absolute certainty, is about exactly what it is that you're missing. Think about it this way. How can you know what you're missing if you haven't even tried it? How can you know if the project will even be a success? You can't. Here's why. Aspirational FOMO is all about the perception that there's something better out there than what you're doing right now, but it's impossible to know whether that bright, shiny object is actually as good as it seems. That's because perception can be deception. So here's what I want you to do. Each time you start to feel aspirational FOMO, you're going to focus on one goal, making sure that perception is not deception. You're going to do that by asking yourself four fundamental questions. First, can I list at least five good reasons why I want to have or do this? Two, can I make this choice without sacrificing other more important goals? Three, can I actually make this happen? Is this opportunity even available to me, or should I be focusing on other opportunities that are more realistic? And four, is there anything here that looks too good to be true? Of course, feel free to add any additional questions of your own to the list. Also, make sure to write down your answers. Writing things down makes them more concrete and allows you to go back to your answers later on. Finally, do some research. Go out and gather information, so you can replace your FOMO with facts. Once you undertake this process, one of two things will happen. On one hand, you may learn that your aspirational FOMO was way off and that project or opportunity is not for you after all. Good news, you can move on with your life. Alternatively, you may discover that your FOMO radar was spot on. If that's the case, don't worry. We'll talk about how to use your FOMO for good later on. All right, now that you have the tools to separate perception from deception, I want you to take a few minutes and practice doing just that. Think of something that's giving you FOMO right now, I know there has to be something, and answer the four questions that will help you to separate FOMO from reality.