Day 35, The Fear of Missing Out

I love Dave Ramsey’s quote, “If you live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.” This is a deeply true statement. The mainstream culture of our country is all about the here and now. Put it on the credit card, eat all of it, and you only live once. However, this mentality is crippling our health emotionally, mentally, physically, and financially. It is also buying into the lie that if you don’t indulge now that your life won’t be good enough and it won’t be available to you later. 

Proverbs 23:21, ESV, warns against that constant self-indulgent nature, “for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags.” So, we might totally know all the things that are healthy and be committed to healthy changes, but inevitably a situation will present itself when we are more tempted than ever to take a break from our commitment because we are fearful of missing out. 

Maybe it is wanting to make a spontaneous concert ticket purchase because we just found out all our friends are going. Maybe it is simply wanting to order the special at a restaurant that you rarely go to. You might be afraid of missing out on so many things. When this happens, I have two questions for you to ask yourself before you give in. 

1. Is it really true that you are missing out forever? We often tell ourselves it is the only ever opportunity even though we could totally come back to the restaurant, plan another experience with our friends, or decide to have it another time. 
2. What would you be missing out on by saying yes? When we say yes to this thing we are afraid of missing out on, we are always saying no to something else. We might be saying no to a promise we had made to ourselves or a healthier future we were committed to. 

At the end of the day, you get to live with whatever decision you make. I have definitely been pleased with my decision to indulge in something that was off-plan for me. Often, this is because I know what is most important to me. For example, when I am needing to reconnect with my husband or daughters and it involves a food or drink that I hadn’t planned for, I will often say yes to that experience because I am not going to miss out on that opportunity to connect with them. However, a random food or drink at a party that I see does not rate breaking my promise to myself to eat foods that serve my body. I also stay open to other options, like eating less, eating to hunger levels, or still enjoying the experience without indulging. 

Journal Prompt: What have you indulged in out of fear of missing out? If you said no, would you really be missing out on this opportunity forever? What are you missing out on by saying yes? 

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