I’m not gonna lie: the FOMO undercurrent is the one that gets me most often.
I love solving problems. So when a new idea, client, or market shows up, my instinct is to say yes. “We can do that.” “We’ll figure it out.” “It’s a good opportunity! We don’t want to miss it.”
It’s exciting. It feels strategic to be in problem-solving mode. It’s fun to think about all of the possibilities. But when everything looks like an opportunity, focus slips away. That’s when you know the FOMO Undercurrent has taken hold.
What the FOMO Undercurrent Looks Like
On the surface, this undercurrent looks productive. Leaders are brainstorming, chasing new markets, starting new projects, and filling the pipeline with ideas. The energy is high and teams are buzzing…
Here’s how it shows up:
- Teams juggling so many initiatives that nothing feels finished
- Strategy decks that expand instead of narrowing focus.
- Budgets spread so thin across too many priorities that they aren’t impactful.
- Leaders chasing competitors’ moves instead of sticking to their own plan.
- Calendars packed with “urgent” meetings that push execution further out.
It’s not a lack of ambition – it’s too much of it. FOMO convinces leaders that saying no means falling behind. But saying yes to everything means nothing gets the focus it deserves, and while you stay busy, nothing seems to get accomplished.
My Experience With the FOMO Undercurrent
As I admitted at the beginning of this article, FOMO has bitten me in the ass more than once.
I remember the first time I realized that this undercurrent was at play in my own world. The company I was working for had been successful in creating two B2B marketing tools. The first was a good idea from the founders to help businesses reach consumers as the internet was picking up steam in the late 90’s. We had a steady flow of new and repeat clients. The second was born from a need we had. We were struggling to manage and track the performance of a growing number of online campaigns, so we built a tool to help us. Even though it was different from what we had done in the past, we turned that tool into a service and sold it to our existing clients and built a market of new customers.
So, when we started struggling to manage and automate our email campaigns, we naturally thought about creating a solution that would ultimately become a product we could sell. We felt like we were making the right strategic moves. We had a successful blueprint, we had the programming team, a marketing engine, a sales staff, and a full customer support operation.
But, the more we worked on the product, the further away the launch seemed to get. We’d check to see what features other email automation providers were offering and add to our “must-have” list. We’d rewrite the pricing model every other day. We’d rush to get something ready for an upcoming conference, just to put it all on hold because we didn’t think the release would be impressive enough. All the while, our teams were bouncing between projects trying to maintain the products and relationships that kept the business profitable and squeezing out extra hours to add bells and whistles to this new product that never seemed to be good enough.
It was exhausting and our teams were resentful in the end. Unfortunately, it was years before we as a leadership team acknowledged that the only thing keeping us going was the emotional tie to the sunk costs and the fear that we were missing out on the opportunity to corner the email automation market.
This is a hard lesson to learn though. I’ve been tempted by FOMO as recently as a few months ago. As I moved away from my corporate job and into consulting and coaching, I was hearing from contacts across my network with ideas on how we might work together. Some were perfectly aligned with what I had set out to do – coach executives and provide leadership development services. But, I quickly realized that I was saying “yes” to things that didn’t align – like building websites, consulting on paid media projects, and taking on a re-org project for a failing business unit.
When those opportunities had come up – I didn’t think twice about them. I heard the problem and immediately started coming up with solutions. I couldn’t imagine not being involved in the process. That was the FOMO talking though.
By saying “yes” to all of those projects, I got behind on the things that I had planned to do in order to build my consulting and coaching business. And that’s the problem – I was spread too thin to do the things that really mattered.
Why FOMO Feels So Rational
Here’s the tricky part: the idea that derails you and becomes the FOMO undercurrent makes perfect sense in the moment.
You see a new market emerging and think, “If we don’t jump in, someone else will.” You hear a competitor making headlines and feel the urge to match them. You watch another division growing and think, “We should be doing that too.”
The problem is, those instincts come from fear, not strategy. FOMO disguises itself as opportunity, but its real pull is anxiety: the worry that you’ll miss your shot, be left behind, or watch someone else win.
And when fear drives strategy, you end up with a business, and a schedule, full of distractions.
How to Navigate the FOMO Undercurrent
The cure for FOMO isn’t more ideas, it’s more clarity.
Here’s how I help leaders get out of it:
- Set and communicate clear goals. When the team knows what winning looks like, it’s easier to say no to everything else. If this new idea doesn’t help you reach your goals, it’s not right – OR – it means you need to do the serious work of revamping your goals.
- Measure opportunity cost. Every new project costs something: attention, bandwidth, or momentum. Make those costs visible. Ask yourself and your team: If we say “yes” to this, what are we sacrificing? What are we taking time, resources, and focus away from?
- Create a “no for now” list. Capture good ideas so they’re not lost. You don’t have to act now, but you also don’t have to throw away the idea altogether. Keep it on a list and come back to it later.
A Better Way Forward
I’ve watched teams transform once they stop chasing everything shiny and start focusing on what matters most.
When you escape the FOMO undercurrent, your team’s energy shifts from frantic to focused. You move from constant activity to meaningful progress. And that’s where real growth happens.
If your team feels spread too thin or your strategy feels scattered, it might be time to step back and ask: are we chasing opportunities, or are we being pulled by FOMO?
