Fear of missing out.
Yes, it’s one of those abbreviations that at one time, made you feel like, “whoa! there’s another abbreviation I need to know? Now what’s this one about?” Which is kind of the whole point of FOMO in the first place.
Why do they know something I don’t know?
What if me not knowing that thing means my business falls behind?
And quickly, those thoughts can spiral into all sorts of negativity, defeatism, and everyone else has what you want even though you know you’re smarter, more deserving, or something else. That something else, of course, being rooted in, why is my business not flourishing? Why does that other person have so much ease in picking up clients? Why is there another freaking {insert your profession here} in this group all of the sudden?
There are two ways to handle this. The first is to put your head down and not pay nearly as much attention to what’s going on around you so you don’t have a chance to see what you might be missing out on. Of course, if the market shifts and your offerings no longer solve a big pain point of your best client, you might not notice this happening and be left with crickets.
The second is perhaps an unconventional approach. Brand UP to meet the challenge and realize, if you’re missing out on something important to you, it’s because you haven’t crossed all your t’s and dotted all your i’s yet.
When I have been in this particular situation, this feeling of not seeing results even though I know I’m enough, it often comes down to me acknowledging a truth many will try so very hard to overlook. That truth? There’s something I know I could have done better.
I’d like to point out, this is not perfectionism.
This is that moment when you have two paths in front of you. The right way involves a little extra work or finesse; it’s the way you’ve been told to do it because it ensures better results. And because you’re in a rush, you choose the other way, which isn’t necessarily wrong but certainly less work and good enough for now.
Fast forward a few weeks and maybe things aren’t going perfectly well. You see a colleague you were hoping to book with you, go with someone else. You hear someone else landed a prime speaking gig. You see someone you admire excel. And the FOMO hits, because there’s a chance you could have leveled up in your business and now you won’t at this moment.
When I feel this way, I can usually look back and pinpoint a few things I knew, deep down, I was not giving my full attention to when needed. And I know the easiest way to rid myself of that FOMO feeling is to reapply myself to my business.
It’s easy to play the victim, but that won’t help anyone in the short or the long run.
The best way to overcome FOMO? It’s to double down.
It’s to master whatever the thing is.
For me that usually means, brand up. Brand myself up to that next level I fear I’m missing. Start acting like the person who has already mastered it and then become that person. I look back to my core values and see where I’ve not been honoring my true self in the everyday scuffle of life. And then I make those necessary changes.
Most recently, that has meant me honoring what I’m really meant to do for my clients and repackaging my premium VIP service as The Badass Brand. It meant me getting over my fear of having the E for Explicit rating on my podcast. It means in local networking, standing up and introducing myself as badass. It means honoring personal power as much as my values of mastery and aesthetics. And it means leaving some fears behind, or at the very least kicking them to the curb for a while.
It’s a choice. Dwell in FOMO or rise above and brand up to the next level.
