I’ll read my books and I’ll drink coffee and I’ll listen to music, and I’ll bolt the door.

J.D. Salinger, A Boy in France

JOMO – Joy of missing out. It means enjoying what you’re doing in each moment without worrying about what everyone else is doing. 

It is hard to keep playing catch up in life, to do things that others are doing just to keep up with them. That’s why we need to understand that everyone is different and each of us can lead a better life if we live it at our own pace.

5 reasons why JOMO is important

1. Because you don’t need to fit in.

The social pressure to be where everyone is, to do what others are doing, to achieve what others have achieved at a certain age is a lot. We tend to do it because we want to fit in better because we think this is how we can make friends and this is how we can lead a normal happy life. However, the truth is you don’t need to fit in. When you do things at your pace, you will find happiness, and peace and that will make people around you happy as well.

2. Because your mental bandwidth is important.

If you keep on working for one thing or another you will always be busy and that WILL burn you out. When you’re not working for your goals but are looking at others achieving things, or going places, you might feel insecure, jealous and sad. All these things fill your mind and heart with unnecessary feelings and thoughts. YOU DO NOT NEED THAT.

3. Because FOMO causes stress and anxiety.

FOMO (Fear of missing out) is the opposite of JOMO. When you feel FOMO it is followed by stress to keep up with the world around you and when you don’t it fills you up with anxiety. That’s why FOMO needs to be replaced by JOMO. However, it is easier said than done.

4. Because it will help you become the best version of yourself.

When you do things at your pace, you do it better. When you choose what you want to do, you become happier. When you don’t stress about what’s happening around you, you feel light. When all this happens, it gives you the chance to become the best version of yourself.

5. Because you deserve it.

You deserve to be happy, to be content, to be at peace.

If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I’ll bet they’d live a lot differently.

Bill Waterson

5 ways to practice JOMO

1. Reflect and understand

Whenever you’re trying to do something new you need to understand where you stand. So in this case, you need to look at yourself, your life, and your habits. That’s how you’ll understand where you spend most of your time and energy and how you can move towards better utilisation of it.

2. Move your body

This might not sound directly related but the more time you spend sitting, the more time you’ll spend thinking about things that don’t matter. When you move your body, stretch, and exercise you make your mental muscle stronger and your capability to practice JOMO increases.

3. Practice mindfulness

Becoming more intentional with your time comes from mindfulness. To be more mindful you can also practice meditation. When you pay attention to how you’re spending your time, you can control what you want to focus on.

4. Build a routine

Your routine doesn’t have to be ironclad. It can be flexible. However adding self-care to your daily routine can do the trick.

You can practice slow mornings, take time to sip your tea at some point in the day, journal etc.

Carving time to disconnect with help you a great deal.

5. Stop scrolling

Comparison has become way simpler because of Social Media.

A report published in the Times of India said that according to a study conducted by App Annie, a mobile data and analytics firm, the average hours spent on a mobile, per day for a user increased by around 4.5% from 3.7 hours in 2019 to 4.7 hours in 2021. The time spent on mobiles in 2020 was about 4.5 hours per day.

In those 3-4 hours you see so much. Travel reels, luxury, people getting promoted, people buying house and car and getting married, having kids and what not. All of this can become a cause of misery.

All these connections make you feel disconnected.

So limiting your time on phone is important . Similarly, unfollowing the accounts that make you feel anxious or sad is something you should do sooner rather than later.

Say yes to JOMO and no to things that you think don’t serve you.

When you say “NO” to things that don’t serve you, you make time for things that do.

– Unknown

All in all embracing JOMO can help you lead a happy and balanced life.

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