It happens the same way every time: You’re presented with the opportunity to go somewhere or try something new and potentially remember it forever. Either that or you’re forced to live with the consequence of missing out (which can be for better or worse). You don’t want to choose incorrectly but more often than not, it turns out that the decision you made wasn’t the right one.

You decide to go out and it ends up that the supposed “great time” is a façade of a mediocre time. Either that or you elect to stay in with Netflix and the following day are forced to hear, “You should’ve been there!”

I can’t tell you how many times I have experienced the fear of missing out (a.k.a FOMO) in my life. I chose to stay in and the party I turned down was one of the best nights my friends ever had. Or I went out thinking it’d be a great time and ended up wishing I had remained in bed (it’s a vicious cycle, really).

Regardless of the outcome, FOMO is the “anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere.” We trap ourselves into believing that if we pass up anything (whether it be a trip for Spring Break or simply going over to a friend’s apartment) we will miss out on something extraordinary. Excitement builds but then falls short when we realize our expectations didn’t meet reality. We assume that everyone else is making lifelong memories when that’s not remotely the case.

These fears especially fester in the form of posts we’re subjected to view on social media. We read tweets followed by #epic or see photos of friends that we’re not tagged in. Every outlet constantly serves as a reminder of what we could’ve been a part of.

So why do we place so much emphasis on it? We forget that in reality, actual discussions revolving around whatever it was that we weren’t present for will be over by next week. Another opportunity will present itself and everyone will move on.

We also shouldn’t let this fear of missing out guide our decisions into doing things we aren’t passionate about. We shouldn’t waste our time trying specific things and going to certain places solely in the hopes of avoiding FOMO. We let the thought of potentially missing out run our lives. We entertain the inside jokes we’ll be on the outside of, the stories we won’t be a part of and even the superficial photos we won’t be in if we don’t participate.

All of these worries culminate together and force us to live in a constant state of fear.

We need to let go of this desire to continually stay connected with what others are doing. More than that, we need to stop comparing what we are doing (or not doing) to others. This will only fuel our fears when what we should be doing is extinguishing them.

We should quit dwelling on the opportunities we’re missing out on and instead focus on the opportunities that are eagerly awaiting us. Let's make incredible memories of our own instead of relying on others. Missing out on seemingly “epic” opportunities don’t deserve to contribute to our unnecessary unhappiness. Let’s cease to allow fear to guide our decisions and most importantly, our emotions.

Do what you want to do regardless of the fear of missing out. It’s time to start having confidence in our decisions and let go of FOMO once and for all.