F.O.M.O.

I never knew what this acronym represented, but now that I do, I think I suffer from it now and again.

Fear.Of.Missing.Out.

And it encompasses more than just fear you are missing out on all the fun at a party.

I read the recent article by Martha Beck in Oprah Magazine and I was shocked at the ease with which social media fuels this fire.

Don't you look at the Facebook photos or read the biographies or hear the story of someone's life and think, "Gee, what the heck have I done with mine? They have experienced so much more or accomplished more or live the better life." And often what follows are the "If only...."

Martha Beck had four strategies to overcome this FEAR. (And when is fear ever healthy, except to get you to recognize that truly you should run, the lion may eat you.)

Here's her first and most important one, in my opinion:

 Realize that FOMO is based on lies. 

And don't we all know that? When we see the celebs on magazine covers and their thighs are thin and their skin is flawless, we truly know it is camouflaged in some manner. I would look much better if I had a team working on my makeup and hair, a personal trainer for two hours a day, and someone to erase those saddlebags with just a swoosh of a keystroke.

We need a little self-talk to say, "Get a grip. It's not real." Or as Martha says for one of her strategies, just say, "STOP"

Yesterday a news (and we should be embarrassed to say this was considered newsworthy) story was that a mom makes these fabulous, professional looking birthday cakes for her children and posts them to Facebook.

So what? Well FOMO ran rampant. All these other moms feel less in comparison. So I guess you are not a good mom unless you can bake the cake and bring it home in the pan.

Here's the issue with being a mom. We want to give our child EVERYTHING. Even the most perfect birthday cake. What is true is that our children, especially when they are little, just want their mom and dad to be there; to play, to laugh, to celebrate.

We all need to get a grip.

And realize that the life we are leading, is just that, our life. Our choices. Our path. Our journey. And it is our choice to live that life to the fullest and not try to emulate our neighbor's.

We need to celebrate that our neighbor has written a best seller. Good for her. We need to revel in the glory of our friend's recent award. We need to congratulate the woman who now wears a smaller dress size or looks terrific in the size larger.

And most importantly we must whoop it up because we woke up today healthy and that should make us happy and thankful and so glad we have No Fear of Missing Out because we are H.L.O.L.

Happily Living Our Life!