Freedom from Missing Out

This is closely related to FOMO or ‘fear of missing out and is one of the key tools used in sales. The idea of scarcity of something created by limiting numbers or time is why we’ve seen flash shortages of many everyday products. There only has to be a rumour of scarcity for people to rush out and buy whatever is ‘going to run out’ – and of course it does, because people desire to be free from missing out on whatever it might be.

This is one of the strongest examples of ‘freedom from’. There are probably few people unaffected by it. It’s why people queue for hours to get the latest iPhone (or similar product) as soon as it comes out. It’s why people actually fight to get to the ‘bargains’ in a ‘sale’. The question is why is this so important to so many and what can we do about it?

Some people are free of this problem, free of missing out because they have discovered how to get things in perspective. The truth is, it’s very rare for anything to completely ‘run out’ and even when it does, a substitute, often something better, quickly appears.

Even when it’s a case of ‘missing out’ on a unique position or role, something else always turns up provided we are open minded enough to recognise it. Once this is properly understood freedom from missing out can easily be achieved.

It’s not as straightforward as it sounds though because there are many things and situations we might not want to ‘miss out’ on and usually each has to be dealt with separately. There are different techniques available to deal with this and importantly a full understanding of the various paradigms and limiting beliefs we hold is essential.