FOLM (Fear of Losing Momentum)
Replace a bad fear with a good fear
In college, before the internet and before smart phones, a common hang out was to watch TV together. Sports, sit coms, or MTV (yes, that’s how old we’re talking). Commercials created social opportunity intervals amidst the watching, when we could replay the highlights of the last 15 minutes or catch up on whatever random topic.
But watching TV at Shawna’s place had a very different vibe. Shawna watched TV with the remote on her lap, and whenever a commercial came on, she would immediately grab the remote and start cycling through the channels. There would be an occasional short pause (<5 seconds) on a channel and then she’d be off again. Rather than socializing during the commercials, we were all trying our best to keep up with Shawna as she quickly ran through the channels.
Early on in this experience, one of the friends in our group asked, “Why do you keep doing that?” Shawna responded, “There might be something better on another channel, so I’m just making sure I’m not missing it.” This was our introduction to FOMO, well before that acronym was ever established. Shawna was ahead of her time, modeling “Fear of Missing Out” for us in the ‘80s.
In the modern era (😜) where we are surrounded by smart connected devices, FOMO is far more prevalent. A ding or buzz from your phone at dinner can pull you into whatever news flash you just got. A three minute wait at the checkout line is an opportunity to scroll through your social media. In the car you can make calls and catch up with your friends.
No single example above presents a problem. It’s the aggregate effect of FOMO that creates the problem. It feeds into a state of constant distraction. Being regularly randomized by external inputs is now the norm.
FOMO sabotages your focus. The solution is to replace that bad fear with a far more motivational fear: FOLM, Fear of Losing Momentum. It takes a lot of work to build the momentum in your Energy Flywheel1. Once you’ve got that humming, you don’t want to lose it. This momentum supplies us with energy that increases our overall output, and helps us power through the more challenging parts of our work.
Develop your FOLM to the point where it will win out over your FOMO.
