Managing FOMO?

[razz]

This topic covers art, media, employment issues and understanding the actions of others. Please feel free to move it to where it might best fit.

I love Robert Genn's twice weekly newsletters on a wide variety of topics so was both interested and amused to see the topics - Managing FOMO.
I have copied it from today's newsletter because it reflects a lot of issues that we might all face in our daily lives. I highly recommend signing up for the newsletter.
Source: rgenn@saraphina.com. Website:http://painterskeys.com/

Some quotes:

"Fear of Missing Out," according to psychologists, is pandemic and getting worse. For us creative folks, FOMO is not just a social disorder, it can be a career killer.

More prevalent in younger people than older ones, it's that terrible feeling that you're missing out on something that might be better or more fun than what you're doing right now. Since the cellphone revolution, checking and texting can be based on a thin hope that something really wonderful is coming up. In life and art, it can be a false hope that keeps us checking.

And it's not just technology. Artists regularly move to the Big Apple hoping to take a Big Bite. With so much going on--openings and exhibitions every night, MOMA, Guggenheim, etc., to say nothing of the theatre scene--there's little time for work. Many artists function better in dull places like Sedro-Woolley, WA.

Addictive FOMO is a malaise that strikes close to home and particularly in the studio. If you think you've caught it, here are a few thoughts and findings:

Temptation preys on our extroverted nature and our optimistic outlook. Introverts and pessimists tend to be less troubled by it. To be truly productive, creative folks need to withdraw to privacy and self-sufficiency.Luckily, as we get older, we tend to be more settled and less likely to have our heads turned. The golden years can be highly productive. But we're all on the horns of a dilemma--connectivity and temptation are here to stay.

FOMO researcher Sherry Turkle says, "Our current relationship with technology fosters immaturity." It's been my observation that the greatest generator of quality work rests within the development of personal character. Some of us need to grow up.

Best regards,

Robert


PS: "We just don't know until we check." (John M. Grohol, PsyD)

[Zoe Girl]

OMG, okay I think that OMG is probably outdated and I really need to get with it because i got a text and saw on facebook that people have not used OMG in the last 72 hours. In any case I need to look up new things to text in a witty sarcastic however never mean mood so that I can start a conversation about FOMO, however then I will need another scintillating (sp?) conversation peice about my latest project, so I had better get to work on that project as well. If I blog and post on facebook about my search for the right inspiration in yarn or the one paragraph plot summary of what I am working on then that is somehow nurturing my creativity because then people will comment, then I will comment back, and see.

I don't know what the heck you are talking about

[iris lily]

OMG, okay I think that OMG is probably outdated and I really need to get with it because i got a text and saw on facebook that people have not used OMG in the last 72 hours. In any case I need to look up new things to text in a witty sarcastic however never mean mood so that I can start a conversation about FOMO, however then I will need another scintillating (sp?) conversation peice about my latest project, so I had better get to work on that project as well. If I blog and post on facebook about my search for the right inspiration in yarn or the one paragraph plot summary of what I am working on then that is somehow nurturing my creativity because then people will comment, then I will comment back, and see.

I don't know what the heck you are talking about

hahah, perfect!

[iris lily]

VERY interesting concept, razz. To create you've got to be totally in the moment. Looking over your shoulder for the next best thing defeats that.

[KayLR]

Thanks for posting this. Thought-provoking. And thanks for the links. ETA: I love the surprising reference to Sedro-Wooley. That's my mom's birthplace.

[Float On]

Sedro-Wooley is the only thing that jumped out at me too, I have a very good friend there and have visited several times.

[pinkytoe]

I think I have that condition:) I am always looking for more information or another thing to do that might be more interesting that what I am already doing. Part of it too is the environment in which I work depends on constant innovation so I am always having to be one step ahead. I was sick last weekend and all I could do was lay in bed and sleep off and on all day. I realized what a wonderful, unusual thing it was just to be still and relax for a whole day without information or technology.

[razz]

Perhaps a better way to describe the FOMO pandemic is to watch how many people you might see who keep texting or checking their phone/emails etc without regard to who or what is facing them in that moment. If they don't keep checking, they might just miss something and it might be more interesting that what they are doing or what they are facing.

[Dhiana]

Long before I had regular access to the internet I read, "Last chance to see" by Douglass Adams. The same guy who did Hitchhiker's Guide realized there were species in the world that we (both himself and humans in general) may never see again. So he set out to see them and he wasn't always successful.
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Chance-See-Douglas-Adams/dp/0345371984/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348269504&sr=8-1&keywords=last+chance+to+see+douglas+adams

This book, and the fact I turned down tickets to see the Grateful Dead right before Jerry Garcia died, really prompted me to go out and grab life. The internet simply makes it easier for me to pick and choose what to see/do and all the amazing work out there pushes me to up the quality & quantity of my work.

Used to live in Anacortes and have been to Sedro-Wooley, I know as an artist I would go crazy there! I am no longer a small town girl, but I sure do love their Cascadian Farm cereals. Thanks Small World Foods :)