Clutter
So, I have been trying to “De-clutter” my life and get more organized.
My husband makes fun of me because I never get rid of any emails. Literally, I had thousands and thousands of emails (read and unread) in my inboxes.
I deleted 12,000 emails. I swear I am not exaggerating! The question was, “why?” Why did I hang on to all of these emails…like emails that were 4 years old!
FOMO
As I was carefully removing each email to make sure that I wasn’t deleting anything “important” it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was afraid I was missing out on something. As an entrepreneur, therapist, and a general consumer I felt like I couldn’t get enough information. I was on so many email lists for ways to create success, how to create a more abundant lifestyle, so many emails about deals that I just could not miss out on.
I realized I was obsessed with doing things perfectly so I kept gathering all of the sage advice and wisdom people were willing to give. The problem is there is just too much to consume, not enough time, and author Scott Sonenshein of “Stretch” shares: “We routinely overestimate the importance of acquiring resources but even more significantly underestimate our ability to make more out of those we have.”
I found myself paralyzed with not knowing what to do with everything I had. My intention to act was stifled into inaction. So, with the decision to be made to de-clutter I decided that I was going to remove myself from email lists and delete the thousands of emails that I had held onto for just the right time when I would access that precious deal or bit of information.
Letting Go
There was a little anxiety about letting go. If you take a psychological approach to this type of decision making it is influenced by the idea of scarcity. We are more apt to buy something or to hold on to something if we know it is rare or only around for limited times.
Hence, why infomercials are so effective. I have a whole other spiel on infomercials and how they mimic our thoughts about ourselves, but that is for another time. But I digress…
In the process of letting go, I realized how silly it was to hang on to things for years that I had forgotten existed. They were no longer relevant, or that were just plain dumb.
I started to brag to my husband that I was finally clearing out my emails and trying to be more like he was. He commended me and then proceeded to show me how he has zero emails in his inbox! ZERO! I can say confidently that will not be me.
Comparisons
But, this FOMO is a real issue for many people, especially with the evolution of social media. People posting about their great lives, their fabulous trips around the world, their perfect relationships, etc. We can’t help but be influenced by these messages and start to compare our own lives to others.
- Why don’t I have a job that allows me to work from home?
- How does so-and-so get to travel so much—the last trip I took was to Target (that’s pronounced Tar-je—it’s an exotic retail store from France…probably)
- It’s not fair…
- Some people have all of the luck.
We forget people post in extremes on social media, and most people want to share the good in their life. Some people are brave vulnerable people who have been honest—without martyrdom—and let people see what real life is.
Real Life
I think we forget what real life is. Life is hard, it’s not always fun, or exciting and new, it’s routine, it’s chaotic, it’s a lot of things outside of what Instagram and Facebook tell us it is.
The FOMO that I hope we learn to cultivate is the fear of missing out on the moments. Living our life to it’s fullest. Accepting the good and the bad because without the bad we would not have gratitude for the good.
Let us live in the moment. Listen to the sounds around you. Feel the fabrics on your skin, or the warmth of the sun, or the chill of the breeze. Really taste and experience your food. Take deep breaths and smell pleasant aromas around you. Look at the effortless beauty of nature, take in the amazing sights of our world. Each moment has so much to offer if we are paying attention.
To schedule a consultation or schedule an appointment to address your own anxiety or FOMO go to my website.
