“There is great gain in godliness with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.” – 1 Timothy 6:6-7
Do you suffer from “FOMO” – the Fear Of Missing Out? Boy, sometimes I do. For me, FOMO creates inner thoughts like, “Am I missing out on something really important? It’s been an hour since I checked Facebook and Twitter!” But that “last check” always results in seeing more dog and baby photos – and ads for sunglasses.
FOMO, however, extends far beyond technology. One website defines it as, “…perpetuating the fear of having made the wrong decision on how to spend time, as ‘you can imagine how things could be different.’”
It’s very similar to the perception that, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” I used to climb a lot of fences in life – always looking for greener grass. Surely, happiness was just around the corner. It’s a common thought.
While deep-sea fishing on vacation in Maine, I started a conversation with a teenager who was helping his father run the boat. “This is paradise! You must love working here!” But he replied, “I’m sick of it. I can’t wait to leave this place.” I was stunned.
In a documentary called Comedian, a young standup comic finally works his way up to being on The Late Show with David Letterman. Afterwards, he’s lounging in his hotel room with a cigar in one hand and champagne in the other. “I’ve been waiting for this moment,” he says to the camera – but his happiness seems insincere.
Years ago, I was a TV reporter in San Diego. After doing a live shot next to the beautiful Harbor, I remember thinking, “This sure does look like ‘I made it’… but I’m not happy.”
I know it’s normal to want to leave the place where you grew up, and it’s normal to want to climb the ladder in your career. But the common thread between myself, the comedian, and that teenager is that we weren’t focused on the most important thing. Relationships.
The teenager didn’t see that his father, the boat’s captain, really loved working with him. The comedian had often been disrespectful to his peers, and found himself all alone in that hotel room. I thought Southern California would hold the recipe for career bliss, but my family and friends were in Oklahoma.
There is no greater use of time than focusing on relationships… with family, with friends, and with God. Every single time, FOMO fades away when I focus on the important people in my life, and the One who gave me life.
Ed Doney, Staff Writer
