You may not be familiar with the term JOMO or Joy of Missing Out, but it has the potential to significantly enhance your happiness quotient.
Some call JOMO the antidote to FOMO (fear of missing out), which is the anxiety that sprouts from fear that you may be missing out on exciting things.
In this post, we’ll have a deeper look at JOMO, understand its benefits, and find out some things you can do to embrace the joy of missing out.
So, let’s begin.
A Short Intro to FOMO
Before diving deep into the concept of the joy of missing out, let’s take a brief look at the fear of missing out.
FOMO is a type of anxiety that kicks in when you feel excluded. Though there are many reasons for an individual to develop FOMO, social media is known to be one of the primary causes of its rise.
What happens is that people see all these amazing things that others are doing on social media. And this causes them to start seeing their own lives as dull and boring. Because of this, many take extreme steps just to be part of the fleeting moment.
Research studies say that FOMO can take a huge toll on your health and well-being.
FOMO’s Adverse Effects
Living life through a virtual filter is one of the most common causes of FOMO.
When you constantly focus on what everyone else is doing, you feel the need to join in with their experiences, and you end up doing everything in your power to make it happen. This causes you to miss out on the experiences in your own life.
Paying more attention to what’s going on outside instead of focusing on your real-world self can cause you to suffer from problems like:
- Loneliness
- Feelings of inferiority
- Reduced self-esteem
- Extreme social anxiety
- Increased levels of negativity and depression
- And more…
Learn more about FOMO, its effects, and prevention in my post, “FOMO: How to Lessen Fear of Missing Out That Deteriorates Your Well-Being.”
JOMO: An Antidote to FOMO?
Psychology Today calls the joy of missing out “the emotionally intelligent antidote to FOMO.”
The concept of JOMO is all about being content with where you are in your life. It simply requires you to stop comparing your life with others and worrying whether you are doing something wrong by being the way you are.
While FOMO takes us hastily to the internet to be part of the fleeting moments, JOMO simply allows you to:
- Slow down
- Appreciate human connections
- Be intentional with your time
- And say “no” to technology when it’s affecting you.
Instead of constantly trying to keep up with your internet “friends,” celebrities, and other public figures, JOMO allows you to focus on yourself in the present.
As Psychology Today says, “when you free up that competitive and anxious space in your brain, you have so much more time, energy, and emotion to conquer your true priorities.”
When You Embrace JOMO
JOMO isn’t some switch that you can flip, and everything will start changing. It’s a series of changes in your daily habits that will help you connect more with your real-world self.
Once you embrace this concept, modern technology will become a mere tool to enrich your life. We’ll talk more about these changes later in this post.
But before that, here are some things that happen when you embrace JOMO in your life.
You’ll Feel Better About Yourself
When you start feeling joy about missing out on mindless trends, you start feeling better about yourself. This is because you’re no longer dependent on validation from people on social media.
JOMO increases your self-esteem, confidence, and focus towards optimizing your own self.
You’ll Reconnect With the Nature
Because of our fast-paced lifestyles and tech-addicted behaviors, we often miss out on experiencing the nature around us.
JOMO requires you to set your tech and busy lifestyle aside for a while and experience how it feels like to be in nature.
Research studies say that when you spend time in nature, you experience a significant improvement in your cognitive and mental health. Besides that, it’s excellent for improving your mood and emotional well-being.
Your Relationships Will Be More Vibrant
Relationships are another area affected by our modern lifestyle. Since we’re nose-deep in our phones and laptops all the time, we don’t get a chance to hang out with our loved ones.
And that deteriorates our relationships.
When you take some time and give it to the people you like, it will add richness and vibrancy to your existing relationships.
Your Sleep Will Improve
Today, 70 million Americans suffer from lack of sleep, according to the CDC. And much of this has to do with the habit of prolonged tech use at night.
There are two factors that affect sleep—blue light and digital overstimulation.
Blue Light
Blue light is something that the sun emits, and our brains use it as a reference to know when to be active. When the sun goes down, and there’s a lack of blue light, your brain tells your body that it’s nighttime and prepares it for a good night’s rest.
And the system works. Rather flawlessly.
If that’s the case, why are so many people suffering from sleepless nights?
The answer is on our phones, laptops, and tablets. Modern LED screens emit the same kind of blue light the sun emits. And since we don’t stop using our gadgets after sundown, the screens continue to expose our eyes to blue light.
This results in your brain thinking that it’s still daytime and failing to turn on the rest mode in your body, resulting in sleep problems.
Digital Overstimulation
Night time is for your brain to slow down and work on background tasks like healing and detoxification. When you continue to consume information from your phone, it keeps your brain active, working to make sense of the information it’s receiving.
This results in your brain failing to slow down and command your immune system to work on the background processes, resulting in many new problems. JOMO asks you to focus on what matters the most, which, in this case, is sleep. This is why we often recommend keeping your gadgets out of your bedroom.
A Few Ways to Embrace JOMO
So, now that you are familiar with what happens when you start embracing JOMO in your life, I’m sure you’re excited to hear where to begin.
Here are some of the things that you can do to flip the FOMO-induced effects in your life and dive into the joy of missing out.
Disconnect From Tech
The first thing you need to do is to stop using your tech unnecessarily. Your mindless scrolling isn’t just taking your valuable time away but also hurting your brain health.
Instead of spending your free time indulging in social media drama, text messages, and emails that you can easily respond to tomorrow, choose to do real-life things. Some examples include:
- Spending time outdoors
- Spending time with your loved ones
- Doing activities you enjoy, like cooking or gardening
- Doing something creative
- Connecting with nature
- Focusing on your physical health
This doesn’t have to be a complete disconnection from modern technology. You can set your own rules. Read my post, “Digital Detox: How & Why to Take a Break from Technology,” for more information.
Reflect – How Are You Spending Your Time?
Spend some time contemplating the way you’re spending your time and how it is making you feel. Be honest with yourself. Are your activities bringing you joy or are you just doing them to fill a void?
Decide:
- What’s important to you and your happiness?
- How do you want to spend your time?
- What activities or events fit in with your goals and priorities?
Besides that, you can also unfollow individuals and unsubscribe from social media accounts that trigger any type of negative feeling about yourself. This is also a great way to alleviate the symptoms of FOMO.
And most importantly, set daily limits on how much you use your gadgets.
Read my post, “Screen Time Limits for Adults: How Limiting Your Screen Time Helps You Physically & Mentally,” for more information.
Reconnect With People
Authentic connection with people is what we lack in the 21st century. Since the little box in our hands gives us everything we think we need, it sways us away from the realization that our mental, emotional, and psychological health is hurting because of this.
So, keep your phone aside and spend some time with your partner, kids, friends, and other people.
Be Mindful. Be More Present
The concept of JOMO requires you to slow down and be more present in the moment. Starting today, you need to bring awareness to your physical and emotional needs.
Meditation is one of the tools that can teach you about being present in the moment. There are many apps that can help you learn meditation and mindfulness.
Learn more in my post, “Do Mental Health Apps Work? 6 Best Mental Health Apps of 2022.”
Practice Saying No
It’s an obvious one, but one that’s extremely difficult for most people—saying no. You need to start practicing saying no without guilt or fear.
You’ll have to start choosing what is necessary and what brings you joy.
You do not always have to:
- Take that phone call or go to that event
- Respond to the notification on your phone
- Respond to mindless messages
- Scroll your social media feed
- Engage in work activities after hours
According to experts, saying “no” sometimes is the best kind of self-love there is. So, say no.
Final Thoughts
JOMO isn’t about making you antisocial or taking technology away from you. It’s about directing your focus towards what matters the most.
You need to start viewing technology as a tool to help you with your day-to-day life. And not as something that requires your focus, attention, and commitment all the time.
What you can do is build a healthier relationship with technology. That way, you can extract all the benefits of modern tech minus the adverse effects that tag along.
The Healthier Tech Podcast features a wide variety of experts sharing tips on the things you can do to make your relationship with technology a safer, healthier one. It’s available for free on all major platforms. So, give it a listen.
