How to focus on your achievements
You are probably familiar with the term FoMO - Fear of Missing Out, an obsessive anxiety that you are deprived of the opportunity to experience a positive experience available to others.
In terms of “social anxiety,” this sociocultural phenomenon manifests itself in the constant desire to be in touch with those who are engaged in something more interesting.
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In terms of psychological needs, FoMO results from a low level of satisfaction of psychological needs. According to the Theory of Self-determination, the need to keep in touch with other people is a basic need that affects a person’s psychological health.
In the light of this theory, FoMO can be considered as a self-regulating state, the influence of which is directly proportional to how satisfied the situational or permanent psychological needs of a person are.
Studies show that FoMO is particularly often manifested among those people who do not feel necessary and significant.
The development of technology (smartphones, tablets, computers), and especially social services, has a critical impact on the spread and enhancement of this state. Moreover, in the case of professional services (LinkedIn), FoMO affects the satisfaction associated with professional activities.
Sometimes it reaches critical values ​​and leads to consequences, even chronic Internet addiction. This is all known to many, and is quite well studied. However, we made this unexpected discovery.
It turns out that this phenomenon was discovered not in psychology or cognitive science, but in marketing. The term was introduced by the marketer (consumer behaviorist, competition strategy, innovation, marketing and branding - a quote from the site) Dr. Dan Hermann in 1996, but only in the 2000s was he most actively used.
Thus, while psychologists are trying to solve this problem, none other than the one who discovered it benefits from the fact that it teaches corporations to exploit it. And, judging by the track record, which includes companies like Coca-Cola, IBM, Motorola - it seems that the budgets in the war for our attention, comparable to the military, sorry for the pathos.
To be serious, no one is interested in ridding us of this fear.
I think I convinced you. What to do? Before answering the question, let's take a closer look at the problem.
Dan Hörman cites the following premises for the emergence of FoMO:
Thus, at the core of this phenomenon is the notion of "possibilities". At the same time, these same opportunities take on different forms and multiply uncontrollably and indefinitely, which, according to Hermann, is due to three factors:
It is these three factors that marketers exploit in order to grab our attention, and even better - to deprive us of the ability to control it in principle.
Of course, we understand it sounds like conspirology. But have you ever wondered why it’s impossible to read paper magazines? Or why Facebook has such a counter-intuitive interface that it is impossible to use it without being used to it?
In this perspective, FoMO is directly related to procrastination, distraction of attention. Thus, all means of distraction can be considered in the system, if not aimed at depriving you of control over your own attention, but, nevertheless, leading precisely to this.
And if so, the rescue of the drowning, the work of the drowning themselves. We do not urge to give up technology and live in a dugout, but the picture is curious.
Daniel Kanneman in his book defines attention as a resource. The resource, although renewable, is nevertheless finite. And if so, we must learn to manage this resource, just as we learn to manage other resources — money, time, people, and ourselves.
“A resource is a quantitative measure of the ability to perform any activity; conditions that allow using certain transformations to obtain the desired result. "
In other words, attention is a necessary condition for carrying out an activity. What activities? Any.
So, we know the enemy by sight, how can we protect ourselves and our attention from him?
Now that we have understood the problem a little better, the fact is obvious that most of the means of dealing with it are aimed at limiting the use of the Internet and services, in Dan Herman's system - the third factor aggravating the situation, but not initiating it.
Therefore, we will not consider them, but immediately turn to the reasons. So, three reasons:
What we can take control of? Perhaps we can pretend that there are not so many opportunities in the world, or close our eyes to them. Or, for example, we can try to deal with the feeling that others actually use no more opportunities than we do, or convince themselves that they only brag about it on Facebook or Instagram, but in reality their life is not much better. our And, probably, in most cases, we will even be right.
But it seems to us that the most effective way to deal with FoMO, and with procrastination and distraction, as a complex of phenomena that impede our realization, is to focus on our achievements .
Now that we know how to make FoMO no chance, that is, to focus on its achievements (because the feeling of its own insignificance is the main reason for FoMO), let's consider a system that will help us in this.
SmartProgress is a service for setting and achieving goals . With its help, people learn not only to achieve the intended, but most importantly - to formulate a goal and follow the process of its implementation.
And, although it may seem that the service fits global tasks - such as building a business, or creating a product, this is not quite the case. It’s also easy for people to keep lists of read books or viewed courses.
The problem with FoMO, as with procrastination, is that gradually, this pattern of behavior is fixed as a habit. Therefore, our task is not just to prevent distraction, but to create a positive habit that will replace the harmful one.
SmartProgress is ideal for this. Suppose, instead of watching videos with a stand-up, you decide to start watching lectures, or video schools.
Of course, you can do it without SmartProgress. But tell me honestly - it was such that you started watching a video school, watched it a couple of times, and then it all somehow flew out of your head, did you forget, and in general there was no time for that?
And what if you had a system with which you would be able to track viewed courses, gained knowledge? Gradually, thanks to the system of reminders, rewards and social communication inside SmartProgress, you will not only form a positive habit of watching useful video materials, but also a list with viewed courses, and best of all, you will be able to correct the process of self-education by adding courses as tasks in SmartProgress .
Thus, instead of a wasteful habit of wasting time on funny videos, you will develop a good habit of watching video courses and lectures. But, of course, the point is not to store knowledge in the head. As soon as you have new knowledge, you immediately want to put it into practice.
I am sure that you started a project “for yourself” more than once, but then there was not enough time, everything somehow did not reach the hands, and then it was not at all that.
SmartProgress will help with this. The reminder service will not let you forget about the project, and your subscribers will not let you abandon it.
You can argue: "watch a couple of video schools, also an achievement for me." But the achievement is not to watch video schools, but to force out bad habits - useful ones. Feel the control of the situation, and stop looking at those who are faster, higher or stronger. Focus on your development, your achievements and your results, and not lament that someone has a higher skill and the grass is greener.
And this is just one example of how SmartProgress helps.
PS If you do not have an account in Habré, you can express your opinion on this article in our blog - SmartTalks
In terms of “social anxiety,” this sociocultural phenomenon manifests itself in the constant desire to be in touch with those who are engaged in something more interesting.
')
In terms of psychological needs, FoMO results from a low level of satisfaction of psychological needs. According to the Theory of Self-determination, the need to keep in touch with other people is a basic need that affects a person’s psychological health.
In the light of this theory, FoMO can be considered as a self-regulating state, the influence of which is directly proportional to how satisfied the situational or permanent psychological needs of a person are.
Studies show that FoMO is particularly often manifested among those people who do not feel necessary and significant.
The development of technology (smartphones, tablets, computers), and especially social services, has a critical impact on the spread and enhancement of this state. Moreover, in the case of professional services (LinkedIn), FoMO affects the satisfaction associated with professional activities.
Sometimes it reaches critical values ​​and leads to consequences, even chronic Internet addiction. This is all known to many, and is quite well studied. However, we made this unexpected discovery.
It turns out that this phenomenon was discovered not in psychology or cognitive science, but in marketing. The term was introduced by the marketer (consumer behaviorist, competition strategy, innovation, marketing and branding - a quote from the site) Dr. Dan Hermann in 1996, but only in the 2000s was he most actively used.
Thus, while psychologists are trying to solve this problem, none other than the one who discovered it benefits from the fact that it teaches corporations to exploit it. And, judging by the track record, which includes companies like Coca-Cola, IBM, Motorola - it seems that the budgets in the war for our attention, comparable to the military, sorry for the pathos.
To be serious, no one is interested in ridding us of this fear.
Reconnaissance
I think I convinced you. What to do? Before answering the question, let's take a closer look at the problem.
Dan Hörman cites the following premises for the emergence of FoMO:
- Present innumerable attractive opportunities
- A sense of the insignificance of our achievements, a feeling that we are missing opportunities
- The feeling that the people around us use far more opportunities than we do.
Thus, at the core of this phenomenon is the notion of "possibilities". At the same time, these same opportunities take on different forms and multiply uncontrollably and indefinitely, which, according to Hermann, is due to three factors:
- Transport revolution (cheap ticket prices, distances no longer matter);
- The revolution in the field of communication (TV, mobile phones, Internet);
- Information revolution (Internet, social networks).
It is these three factors that marketers exploit in order to grab our attention, and even better - to deprive us of the ability to control it in principle.
Of course, we understand it sounds like conspirology. But have you ever wondered why it’s impossible to read paper magazines? Or why Facebook has such a counter-intuitive interface that it is impossible to use it without being used to it?
In this perspective, FoMO is directly related to procrastination, distraction of attention. Thus, all means of distraction can be considered in the system, if not aimed at depriving you of control over your own attention, but, nevertheless, leading precisely to this.
And if so, the rescue of the drowning, the work of the drowning themselves. We do not urge to give up technology and live in a dugout, but the picture is curious.
Attention
Daniel Kanneman in his book defines attention as a resource. The resource, although renewable, is nevertheless finite. And if so, we must learn to manage this resource, just as we learn to manage other resources — money, time, people, and ourselves.
“A resource is a quantitative measure of the ability to perform any activity; conditions that allow using certain transformations to obtain the desired result. "
In other words, attention is a necessary condition for carrying out an activity. What activities? Any.
FoMO Attack
So, we know the enemy by sight, how can we protect ourselves and our attention from him?
Now that we have understood the problem a little better, the fact is obvious that most of the means of dealing with it are aimed at limiting the use of the Internet and services, in Dan Herman's system - the third factor aggravating the situation, but not initiating it.
Therefore, we will not consider them, but immediately turn to the reasons. So, three reasons:
- The presence of countless attractive opportunities;
- A sense of the insignificance of our achievements, a feeling that we are missing opportunities;
- The feeling that people around us use far more opportunities than we do.
What we can take control of? Perhaps we can pretend that there are not so many opportunities in the world, or close our eyes to them. Or, for example, we can try to deal with the feeling that others actually use no more opportunities than we do, or convince themselves that they only brag about it on Facebook or Instagram, but in reality their life is not much better. our And, probably, in most cases, we will even be right.
But it seems to us that the most effective way to deal with FoMO, and with procrastination and distraction, as a complex of phenomena that impede our realization, is to focus on our achievements .
Progress
Now that we know how to make FoMO no chance, that is, to focus on its achievements (because the feeling of its own insignificance is the main reason for FoMO), let's consider a system that will help us in this.
SmartProgress is a service for setting and achieving goals . With its help, people learn not only to achieve the intended, but most importantly - to formulate a goal and follow the process of its implementation.
And, although it may seem that the service fits global tasks - such as building a business, or creating a product, this is not quite the case. It’s also easy for people to keep lists of read books or viewed courses.
The problem with FoMO, as with procrastination, is that gradually, this pattern of behavior is fixed as a habit. Therefore, our task is not just to prevent distraction, but to create a positive habit that will replace the harmful one.
SmartProgress is ideal for this. Suppose, instead of watching videos with a stand-up, you decide to start watching lectures, or video schools.
Of course, you can do it without SmartProgress. But tell me honestly - it was such that you started watching a video school, watched it a couple of times, and then it all somehow flew out of your head, did you forget, and in general there was no time for that?
And what if you had a system with which you would be able to track viewed courses, gained knowledge? Gradually, thanks to the system of reminders, rewards and social communication inside SmartProgress, you will not only form a positive habit of watching useful video materials, but also a list with viewed courses, and best of all, you will be able to correct the process of self-education by adding courses as tasks in SmartProgress .
Thus, instead of a wasteful habit of wasting time on funny videos, you will develop a good habit of watching video courses and lectures. But, of course, the point is not to store knowledge in the head. As soon as you have new knowledge, you immediately want to put it into practice.
I am sure that you started a project “for yourself” more than once, but then there was not enough time, everything somehow did not reach the hands, and then it was not at all that.
SmartProgress will help with this. The reminder service will not let you forget about the project, and your subscribers will not let you abandon it.
You can argue: "watch a couple of video schools, also an achievement for me." But the achievement is not to watch video schools, but to force out bad habits - useful ones. Feel the control of the situation, and stop looking at those who are faster, higher or stronger. Focus on your development, your achievements and your results, and not lament that someone has a higher skill and the grass is greener.
And this is just one example of how SmartProgress helps.
PS If you do not have an account in Habré, you can express your opinion on this article in our blog - SmartTalks
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/295252/
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