What is the modus operandi for an average twenty-seven-year-old? Wake up, go to work, meet friends, engage in a weekend activity, go to church, and do that all over again the next week. As time goes on you get a car loan and service it for the next two or three years.
That wasn’t my path. I resigned from my job before my twenty-fifth birthday and ventured into business. Conversely, my peers were pursuing promotions and paying off loans at that age. There were days when I experienced the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO). My mother did not help by constantly reminding me how my peers were “making money” while I pursued “fleeting dreams”
On a sunny afternoon, as I walked through the corridors of a client’s workspace, I overheard Manuela saying “I have been working ever since I was sixteen” Not wanting to show her that I was listening in I pretended to be doing things around her workstation. Manuela is a twenty-five-year-old Manager at her workplace with great experience. She has paid her way through school- something she should be proud of but that is not the case.
Manuela has FOMO. Twenty-five-year-olds at her workplace talk about their time at university. She works while attending school so she doesn’t have that experience. Ladies at her age are driving to work in cars bought by their parents. She drives a third-hand car that occasionally breaks down. Her peers are going on dates every weekend while she calls her boyfriend in Sweden on WhatsApp.
FOMO is real, especially for Genz (Twenty-six and below) Some millennials have it. But regardless of the generation how does someone deal with FOMO effectively?
Looking back over my life the following strategies helped me not succumb to FOMO:
Find objective mentors: My mentors helped me put into perspective a lot of things. Case in point: One day I was on the verge of reapplying for a job because business wasn’t doing well. I was experiencing financial pressure and FOMO. When I talked to my mentor. He pulled out a file, showed me some of his consulting contracts, and encouraged me to keep grinding. I am happy I never applied for that job today.
Build conviction for your dream: Every time I coach someone taking a peculiar path in life- different from the status quo, I teach them how to build conviction. A conviction is a firmly held belief or opinion. Does working over the weekend matter to you now and in the future? Are you sure? Ten years from now will you regret what you’re doing now? It has been over ten years from the time I started the business. I haven’t missed out on anything investments, social life, or all those short-term fleeting niceties. Are you convicted or simply interested? Interested people are highly prone to FOMO
Get exposed: Show me a person who gives into FOMO all the time and I will show you a person who hasn’t left their city in the last three years. Everyone ought to leave their city, country, and or continent to see what is happening elsewhere. Career paths are diverse. Strategies to acquire a home are limitless. Opportunities are many. I have been privileged in life to acquire lots of exposure through travel, reading, and speaking to a multiplicity of ethnicities. One thing I can tell you, your dreams despite being weird are valid. When we started Sudesh Int’l Consult as an Organizational design Consulting firm. It was increadibly hard to define it but I had seen it work in other countries. If I lacked the exposure I would have settled for FOMO
I hope these strategies are helpful. You’re special and so is your career path. Embrace it with conviction. Walk it with grace.
