Living with FOMO

Anyone who is or has been a part of the MBA world must have come across the word FOMO. And for those who haven’t, let me start by expanding the acronym. The acronym stands for the ‘Fear of Missing Out’. When I started my MBA journey at SPJIMR, I wondered why this term would be such a buzzword here. Little did I know that the adventure ahead was waiting to answer all my queries.

“There are hundreds of things to do at an MBA college. You just won’t know what to take up and what not”. This is what I heard from my senior next door. But I was still confused as to why someone would bother about so many things. If something isn’t relevant to me, I just wouldn’t fear missing out on it. And of course, not everything can be relevant to a person. Right?

Umm, maybe not.

Much to my surprise, MBA is all about FOMO. And every single person on the bandwagon experiences it at some point or the other. It’s a wave! It hits you with force right in the first week of college and you ride on it till the very end. Well, you ride on it or are swept by it, is a personal journey altogether 😛

Echoing my senior’s thought, I must accept that there’s so much to do during your MBA – right from academics, case competitions, societies, clubs, and personal development. Sadly, there isn’t enough time to do everything. And let’s not forget the mandate to attend batch parties. It’s been 4 months since I started my MBA journey and it has been a roller coaster ride. However, in this ride, my partner’s seat was taken by none other than the fear of missing out. Ever heard of a partner that comes into your life and completely changes you? FOMO is exactly that. I have been converted from a morning bird to a night owl, from being extremely self-involved to becoming a people-loving person. How, you ask? Let me elaborate.

The first case competition on campus brought in so much excitement. Some had wishes to win, some to have fun and some just didn’t know what to hope for. And I belonged to the third category. With my motives clear in mind, I was sure not to participate in any case competition. But little did I know, that was surely an illusion. Out of FOMO, I decided to participate in just this one. Incidentally, the whole batch rode on the same thought and there were case submissions made by everyone. And this was just the beginning. Week after week, company after company; there were so many competitions lined up and we were always waiting in the submission queue. Did I win any? No. But do I still consider them a waste of time? Again, no. There’s so much to learn from every case as each brings a new problem to the table. A problem to understand and crack the solution by exercising our brain muscles. However, the hope to win at least one case, the hope to crack just another problem, leads one into a cycle of FOMO.

“If you live in FOMO you will end up becoming a ROBO (robot)”– quoted one of the alumni of SPJIMR.
Frankly, many blogs will guide you on how to avoid the fear. As for me, I think it is great to experience this feeling once in your life, as it lets you know about yourself. It allows you to self-introspect about what you are here for. It helps one explore the different facets of an MBA that ultimately guides one to choose the best-suited field.

On an ending note, let me ask you a question.
Why are we here? Why we are doing an MBA? Why do we want to pursue an MBA? Is it a Rat Race? Or is it again, FOMO?

Irrespective of the answer to the last question, you must know you are here, and you must make the best out of your time from here on!