Announcing My New Book: Fear of Missing Out - Practical Decision-Making in a World of Overwhelming Choice

I hope this note finds you healthy and staying safe at home helping to fight COVID-19. I have been physically (not socially) distancing in New York City and I miss normal life. I hope we can all get back to it soon.

I’m also writing to let you know that my new book is here! After years of research, writing, podcasting, speaking, teaching, and engaging fellow FOMO Sapiens all over the world, I’m proud to introduce Fear Of Missing Out: Practical-Decision Making In A World of Overwhelming Choice, your guide to the fundamental nature of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and FOBO (Fear of a Better Option), where they come from, and how to face them down. At its essence, the book is about how to overcome indecision. You can pre-order here!

Given what’s going on, I’ve been getting asked more and more questions about COVID-19 and FOMO. Here's where my head is at the moment. While some of us are letting our FOMO get the best of us (panic buying, reluctance to social distancing, and the risk for overconsumption of news which only stresses us out), many of us are feeling FOMO (and despair) because we cannot be with the people we care about and see regularly. At this moment, grandparents are missing grandchildren, friends are isolated from each other, and family is stuck on opposite ends of the cities or countries. But we cannot visit with each other because of the danger of what was once very much taken for granted: being together. As a result, many of us are learning to exist without much of the external stimuli we’ve grown accustomed to for the first time in years.

There is one more important consideration.  Most people don’t know it, but I invented FOMO in the early 2000s in response to having witnessed the 9-11 attacks firsthand as a resident of lower Manhattan. This wake-up call regarding the fragility of all we take for granted provoked me to try to do, be, and experience everything I could from that point forward. The parallels with today are striking to me. Once things get back to normal and we can leave our homes again, I expect a widespread celebration of life, with plenty of trying to do and experience everything. And plenty of FOMO. But it’s ok to have FOMO sometimes…because if you have FOMO it also means you once again have something to miss out on. The key is to know how to manage it, how to learn from it, and how to harness it to try new things, live life, and keep moving forward.  

This all relates to my new book. In the book, I explain where FOMO and FOBO come from, unpack their causes, and then show how you can overcome them. I also show you how FOMO can actually be a force for good as a way to explore and uncover hidden passions or interests. Finally, I show you how to beat the FOs when it comes to others. The worst thing that can happen is that you beat your FOs and then have to deal with them in other people.

I NEED YOUR HELP! I would be so grateful if you could pre-order the book. Also, tell that one friend who has FOMO or FOBO (or both!) to pre-order (or send them a copy)! The more buzz we generate there more it will help people to discover the book. That you for your support - it means a lot to me. You can find links to at your bookstore of choice at patrickmcginnis.com.