The Top 5 Dying Regrets of The FOMO Generation
In 2011, an end-of life nurse recorded the top regrets of her dying patients. Here they are adapted for the modern generation.
The digital generation is living a life unlived—they just don’t know it.
We OD on the desire to stay connected. We constantly crave the ping of a notification. We gorge endlessly from the firehose of social media.
And we do all of this despite knowing the effects it has on our mental well-being.
Until one day we wake up and realize we have:
“FOMO”.
Fear of Missing Out. Also known as REGRET.
How do I know this?
Because I used to have crippling FOMO.
The type of FOMO that:
Left me doom-scrolling late at 3 AM questioning all of my life decisions because I didn’t start writing online.
Pushed me to spend 6 hours a day on Twitter to grow my account and buy guide after guide after guide… ( or risk being left behind).
Ingrained in my mind that I never did enough. So I should write more, tweet more, and engage more.
FOMO doesn’t just make you regret more, it ruins your ability to live in the present moment.
So if you want to be a happy writer, creator, or person look out for these Top 5 Regrets Of The FOMO Generation.
( This is based off of Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing)
#1 I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. 😔
We envy the highlight reels of the people on our feed, and constantly imagine ourselves in their situation.
Worse of all?
We trick ourselves into think that their life is the life we want.
So we end up copying their desires for our own.
I see this in writers and new creators all the time.
“Oh I want to be just like X or have what Y has.”
#2 I wish I hadn’t worked so hard. 🧟
When I started writing online for the first time I spent hours ‘engaging’ and following top accounts so I could get their attention.
That’s what everyone else does right?
By the end of the month I felt like a zombie. And didn’t touch Twitter for 2 weeks.
There is no glory in working yourself to death— especially not for likes.
#3 I wish I had the courage to express my feelings. 💓
Most writers I know struggle with this the most.
They wish they could write what they want to write.
They wish they could say what they want to say.
But they stop themselves.
Instead, they become avid readers instead of avid writers.
#4 I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. 💌
Whether your relationships are online or offline it never hurts to send a quick message checking in on the people you care about.
Research from the APA shows us how “casual check-ins” matter more than we think.
If you usually read their posts, take time to comment.
If you usually comment, take time to message them.
If you usually message, why not give them a call?
#5 I wish I had let myself be happier.😀
Start that newsletter.
Eat that pizza.
Buy that shameless self-help book you’re too embarrassed to be seen reading that you’ve had on your “to-read” list for months!
(okay maybe that’s just me)
I hope you enjoyed these Top 5 Regrets.
Til next week’
Brian “No Ragrets” To
Build In Public
Here’s a sneak peek behind the last couple of chapters for the AI guide for Writers:
This tweet has been on my mind for the past week
One Dope Link
Niching down has always been a love-hate relationship for me. This article has been the couples therapy I always needed. So if you’re thinking of niching down, or NOT niching down this is for you! 👇