FOMO?

I fractured my ankle in January and have a long recovery ahead. My husband got me a wonderful book, Journal Like a Stoic: A 90-Day Stoicism Program to Live with Greater Acceptance, Less Judgment, and Deeper Intentionality by Dr. Brittany Polat.

Today’s prompt invited me to sit with myself, without distractions, for 15 minutes and simply observe. I was struck by how calm I became—my anxiety seemed to melt away.

As I sat in stillness, I realized that much of my life has been shaped by a fear of missing out. But missing out on what? I’m not even sure. Ironically, my constant engagement with social media, TV, news, and technology—my attempts not to miss out—were actually causing me to miss something far more important: the beauty of my own inner world. These distractions have kept me from the deeper internal journey that I now see is what I’ve been seeking all along.

I highly recommend this journal. Its prompts are both practical and profound, and Stoicism continues to offer timeless wisdom for modern life.

Have you ever had an experience like this? How do you create space to be present with yourself?