When FOMO gets in the way of your Creative Work

FOMO: (Fear of Missing Out) – that anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on social media.

Have you ever found yourself scrolling your Instagram or Twitter or Facebook for hours, lingering on those posts where mega deals are entered into by your fellow Artists? Or as they go LIVE on their Social to show off being on set on a film or tv show?

Are you feeling dejected when friends, your fellow artists, or even total strangers post about their fabulous life and prolific career?

As we are all still in the midst of a pandemic, with so much uncertainty surrounding us, it is as easy to get sucked into FOMO as it is to depression. Both seem interconnected.

While I have been a champion of community and information for Hollywood longevity, I am also acutely aware of how addictive Social Media can be and both its positive and negative psychological effects.

Artists and Content Creators are generally compassionate souls. We pour our hearts into those script pages, those acting roles, framing that perfect shot, pitching our passion project in the room. Rejection is a constant. But when it isis experienced directly, it is more easily handled, mainly if we are fueled by passion and determination. When it is experienced indirectly, I call it the "Why not Me Syndrome," it can create a sleuth of self-doubt, the most dangerous and stagnant emotion of all, in my personal opinion.

During the Pandemic, I also experienced FOMO in spades. While looking for those signs of the needle moving in the Entertainment Industry, I got lost in the happy and exciting personal lives of others, with a mixture of celebration but also a hint of dejection and, let me be honest, even envy.

I have always been very confident in my work, due to being 30 years in the Business (hello, I am still here!) and being a fierce advocate for constant learning and authentic networking.

But for me, marriages, baby births, travel photos, extended family gatherings, vast and new business successes outside of my world, after seeing our Entertainment Industry crumble for the past two years, have been tough to digest. Possibly because when our FIRE is put out (if we are obsessed creators like yours truly), then we notice the things we should have given more time to and did not, such as personal and everyday life, and that emptiness becomes palpable.

To fight this FOMO, or actually, more like embracing it, I poured my energy into leveling up my spiritual growth and Mindset. I talk about this on my Season 3 episode 1 podcast.

So I am going to give you some practical and Mindset tips to help your FOMO be gone. It worked wonders for me, and it was all done by trial and error.

The Practical FOMO cure

1. Go on a digital detox

Put your phone down, or turn it to airplane mode. Silence all notifications on your computer. Don't read about those mega-deals in the Trades. Put that news in a separate folder and read them only once a week.

2. Turn off the News

Believe me, if a natural disaster is looming, the news will get to you somehow. The Pandemic brainwash is actually creating long-term PTSD in all of us.

3. Stop doing too many of too many things

You do not need to write 10 movies, binge-watch, or send hundreds of emails like a robot.

Practice the Pomodoro Technique (see my Stage 32 blog from a few years back).

There is something of great value in intentionality and essentialism. Do a Marie Kondo on your entire life.

4. Stop posting just to get a one-up on others on your extraordinary life

The more authentic you are, the better relationships you will attract.

The Mindset FOMO hacks

1. Dig deep to find out what you truly want - an actual want is not a wish but an outcome

What outcomes in all areas of your life and in your projects do you want to happen? List them in practical and attainable baby steps.

2. Meditate on how you feel when they happen

We are in the Business of MOVING IMAGES, so it should be easier for you to do than most. The more vivid and detailed the image of the outcome, the stronger the feeling.

3. Share your emotions and put them on paper

Reread those when tempted to get hypnotized by your Facebook, Twitter, or IG feed.

"Money is the byproduct of doing the right thing ."This is one of the personally created mantras that has reminded me of all that happens at the right time and with the right stage of mind.

I look forward to your feedback as you move out of FOMO, Fear of Missing Out, and head into MASH, Making Authentic Shit Happen.

Links:

ESSENTIALISM

About Alexia Melocchi

Alexia has worked in Hollywood for over 30 years. An accomplished and multi lingual film producer of award winning films and documentaries, and consultant to international media companies and artists, she has expanded her horizon with her 5 star rated podcast THE HEART OF SHOW BUSINESS, and keynote speaking at various film and television conferences around the world on the interaction of art with business and spirituality. She is a fierce animal advocate, the proud mama of 3 rescue cats and her personal mantra is “Talent takes you places, mindset takes you everywhere”

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