There’s a new acronym on the block. Forget FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and YOLO (You Only Live Once), they’re shorthand for being involved. Jumping in. Not letting anything pass you by. Wringing everything out of life.
Take a bow, JOMO (Joy Of Missing Out). Then sneak out the side door.
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For those still trying to decode, JOMO goes something like this:
You have dinner tonight with friends. It’s 4pm Saturday afternoon. It’s the first opportunity you’ve had in the week to stop, and you want to keep on stopping for a while. As you grab a book, or aimlessly scroll through Facebook or check out an episode of Orange is the New Black (you’re still on series one, because, seriously, who are these people who have time to binge watch four episodes in a row?), you almost feel guilty for stopping.
You know not to get too comfortable because you have to get ready soon – and you don’t want to get ready. Ever again. For anything. You want to do nothing for the rest of your life. You honestly contemplate moving to Mullumbimby.
It's 4.30pm. What are you going to wear? How long will it take to get there? Should you drive? What are the kids going to eat for dinner before you go? Then the beep of a text. It's your dinner date. Bloody basketball. Luke's hurt his ankle and we're at children's hospital. Not sure how long this is going to take. Could be late.
Crap. You don't want this dinner to start at 9pm. You're tired. You just want to cancel and watch another episode and get in your PJs. You're about to text back that's terrible, poor Luke yada yada yada, when there's another ping. They think it's torn ligaments but they just want to be sure. We'll be here for a while.
It's the crack you need. You can see a tiny splinter of light. You press pause on OTNB. No probs if you want to re-schedule. XX
Nothing for a while. There's a discussion in the hospital waiting room. Then ping.
Good idea. Thanks for that. Have no idea how long we will be. So sorry. Talk soon. x
Air punch in bedroom. "Thank you Luke". Don't even feel bad for saying thank you Luke out loud. Press play on the episode six, series one of OTNB. Take off bra.
JOMO.
And in terms of this JOMO, you didn't even have to actively pull out. So JOMO squared.
The Huffington Post called it the word to watch for 2014 and, in typical JOMO style it missed out on that year, but is coming in strong for 2015. This week, the career website Levo declared JOMO beautiful, special and important.
Where FOMO and YOLO are about making sure you eat up everything life has to offer, JOMO is about making sure life doesn't eat you up. By deliberately opting out instead of in we get joy from the free (momentary) space we create for ourselves.
When we miss out we create a space free from connection. Sometimes the wires need a rest.
In this solitary (not lonely) space, a space that was formerly earmarked to do something, to be something, there is now just you, and a small window of time.
There is so much you can do - or not. It's JOMO.
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