Fear of missing out : practical decision-making in a world of overwhelming choice

Fear of missing out Practical decision-making in a world of overwhelming choice

Patrick J. McGinnis

Book - 2020

"We make more than 35,000 decisions a day. Some impulsive, some logical, and some complex and paralyzing. Compounded with our "always on" society, the pressures and stresses wrought by endless access to yet another option or possibility can create an endless loop of indecision and unease. Patrick McGinnis has the scientific secrets to make any decision simple-while simultaneously eliminating your stress. Living decisively doesn't happen overnight, but through focus, conviction, and relishing in your choices, you can begin to live happily with every decision you make"--

Saved in:
Place a Hold Save to List Email this

2nd Floor Show me where

153.83/McGinnis
1 / 1 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
2nd Floor 153.83/McGinnis Checked In
Subjects
Decision making.
Published
Naperville, Illinois : Sourcebooks [2020]
Language
English
Main Author
Patrick J. McGinnis (author)
Physical Description
xvii, 236 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages [217]-226) and index.
ISBN
9781492694946
  • Introduction
  • Section I. Fear and Indecision in an Overwhelming World
  • Chapter 1. A Brief History of FOMO
  • Chapter 2. Your FOMO's Not Your Fault
  • Chapter 3. More Than a Meme
  • Chapter 4. The Other FO You Need to Know
  • Chapter 5. The Sad Tate of the Man Who Got Everything He Wanted
  • Section II. The Hidden Cost of Fear
  • Chapter 6. The Billion-Dollar Business of FOMO
  • Chapter 7. FOBO, the Anti-Strategy
  • Section III. Decisive: Choosing What You Actually Want and Missing Out on the Rest
  • Chapter 8. Freedom from Fear
  • Chapter 9. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
  • Chapter 10. FOMO Is for the Planets, Not the Sun
  • Chapter 11. Choosing Action over Option Value
  • Chapter 12. Missing Out on the Rest
  • Section IV. Making FOMO and FOBO Work for You
  • Chapter 13. Going All In Some of the Time
  • Chapter 14. Game of FOs: Dealing with FOMO and FOBO in Other People
  • Epilogue: We're Lucky to Have Options in the First Place
  • Author's Note
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • Index
  • About the Author
Review by Booklist Review

McGinnis isn't just another American who experiences regular FOMO (the fear of missing out), he actually coined the term. Back in the early 2000s, while Mark Zuckerberg was creating Facebook less than a mile from McGinnis' apartment, McGinnis was attending Harvard Business School and noticed that everyone around him was in competition to have the highest quantity and quality of experiences, thus, FOMO. Nearly two decades later, the term has been added to Webster's dictionary and has become a ubiquitous part of the global vernacular. McGinnis hosts the podcast FOMO Sapiens, and with this book, publishes a bible on the definition of FOMO, its meteoric rise, how to spot it, its dangers, and its constructive uses. McGinnis warns of the other, more insidious, "FO" often associated with FOMO: FOBO, or the fear of a better option. While FOMO can be galvanizing and drive progress, FOBO paralyzes sufferers in an unending cycle of indecision. Fascinating, liberating, this could inspire FOMO in all who choose to leave it on the shelf.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Venture capitalist McGinnis (The 10% Entrepreneur) breaks down the evolutionary responses known as the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and Fear of Better Options (FOBO) in this lucid analysis. FOMO ("Social pressure resulting from the realization that you will miss out on or be excluded from a positive or memorable collective experience") and FOBO ("An anxiety-driven urge to hold out for something better based on the perception that a more favorable alternative or choice might exist") are terms McGinnis coined in articles he wrote while studying at Harvard Business School. These two fears, he argues, have plagued mankind since the beginning of time and have been exacerbated by social media. To overcome both FOMO and FOBO, he writes, one must center personal values and responsibilities and weigh them against outcomes: "When you find the power to choose what you actually want and the courage to miss out on the rest, you are finally liberated from indecision and the compulsion to have it all." To this end, he provides steps for making decisions on social plans, strategies for saying "no" in different situations, and rules for overcoming fear. This is a useful one-stop shop for those looking to take a decisive stand against the fear of what could have been. (May)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

McGinnis's latest (The 10% Entrepreneur) guides readers in finding the power to choose what they desire out of life and the courage to miss out on the rest. He points out that FOMO (fear of missing out) is a highly addictive and destructive way to live, and that FOBO, fear of a better option, is equally harmful and paralyzing. The author outlines a decision-making model that helps them home in on what really matters by tuning out distractions and leveraging technology, thereby living comfortably with the decisions they've made. VERDICT This book's superb advice will appeal primarily to millennials and members of Gen Z.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Similar Items