How to Deal With Your Travel FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)

The fear of missing out (FOMO) is a real thing. I know it is for me, especially when I’m traveling.

I could be on a beach somewhere exotic and still feel like I’m missing out on something if I see that my friend just did something awesome on the other side of the world.

It’s a problem.

I’m still a work in progress, but I have found a few strategies for how to deal with travel FOMO over the years. I wouldn’t say I’m completely cured, but there has been A LOT of introspection on my end around evaluating my priorities and finding my joy.

You can tame the FOMO monster if you put in the work. The advice below can help.

Check your privilege. 

The thing is, many with FOMO for travel are able to get out and do things. It’s about missing out on things that they’re not able to do. This is me.

“What’s she complaining about?” they ask.

I mean, they’re right. My life is often quite charmed. Sometimes it’s hot garbage, but there’s a lot to be thankful for. Besides, I often keep the hot garbage to myself. No one would be jealous of that on social media.

When experiencing travel FOMO, look around you. Is the dog fed? Are you fed? Is there gas in the car — no matter what the price is per gallon at the moment — and do you have a roof over your head?

Things are pretty good then, even when they’re not. Calm down. (I’m talking to myself here, by the way. We’ve all got stuff going on.)

Ponder the meaning of life.

Is life really all about doing all the things?

I mean, for many with travel FOMO, it sure is! 

Here’s the thing, though.

You will run out of time before you do all the things. I’m all about using my time on Earth to do things that excite me, or that feel meaningful in some way.

I’m also done counting countries and making sure I’m ticking off this thing or that thing because it would make me crazy.

Ponder what you love about travel and you may just find that doing all the things has kept you from doing the RIGHT things.

Recognize that some places may not be for you.

Sometimes I feel FOMO over places I don’t even have any interest in visiting. That’s really dumb. Some of it may just be the fact that these people are out there doing these things that seem like a good time for them.

For example, I have no interest in going on a large-scale cruise. I have terrible seasickness and generally have a lot of problems with cruises that I’ve gone into elsewhere.

Does that mean I’m not all, “Oh, will you look at that?” when a friend of mine is at some Norwegian fjord being all whimsical? I’ve even been to Norway. I’ve seen the fjords.

I was even super annoyed when my views of said fjords were blocked by obnoxiously large cruise ships.

And yet, there I am, picturing myself on a trip or in a situation I wouldn’t even enjoy. It’s ridiculous.

Remind yourself that you’ve already been there, dummy.

Speaking of Norway, why am I getting all weird about someone else enjoying the fjords in their own manner? I don’t own Norway. 

I do this all the time. I could visit somewhere a dozen times then see someone in that same place doing something I already and be all, “Aww I wanna go to there.”

I have FOMO when it’s not even something I’ve missed out on.

It’s just not right.

Quit comparing yourself to others.

This is a big one in the travel blog world, but also in the regular world. We do it all the time in our jobs and our social circles, even with our own family members.

It’s easy enough to say, “You do you and I’ll do me,” but it’s harder to practice.

I find it impossible as someone with a travel blog not to feel little pangs of whatever that is that’s cropping up whenever I see someone do something super envy-inducing.

Never mind that what they’re presenting online is probably just a super rosy view of whatever they’re doing.

That’s not important and I’m not in the right mind to consider that. They’re making their dreams and bucket lists a reality! They’re hugging alpacas right now!

Will I stop dreaming the impossible dream, though? Nope. I will fight the good fight and keep trying to embrace all that makes me awesome and all the things I do that make everyone jealous of me.

No, I did not understand the assignment.

Embrace the mantra: “I will be happy for you.”

I can be genuinely happy for my friends at the same time as insanely jealous of their success or whatever silly things they’re bragging about at the moment.

They don’t even need to be bragging.

They could just be sharing something cool they’re doing on their socials that I would also like to be doing. I’ll just say that I’m being a good friend because I’d like to be doing that thing with them…or by myself. Whatever.

I’m mostly kidding. I love it when my friends show off all of their successes. Their successes are my successes.

Well, not really. I’m still happy for them, though, usually.

Satiate your FOMO in other ways.

There are things you can do that will make you feel very lucky about the position you’re in. 

I’m not talking about anything creepy here.

When you’re feeling a little blah, do something that’s an instant mood lift. Maybe that’s donating a little cash to a worthy cause or donating your time to a community organization.

Perhaps it’s calling your mom, or waiting to call her back for another day if you’re in that boat with me.

Maybe there’s something you’ve been putting off because you spend most of your days scrolling through social media wishing you were anywhere but where you’re at.

It could be as simple as a giant pizza with chicken wings around the rim. (The photographed concoction is from Pizza e Birra in San Diego, a casual Italian spot that will make all of your dreams come true with that thing.)

Rather than wishing yourself elsewhere, do something where you are that makes you feel good. It could be as simple as finishing that puzzle on the counter that your dog has likely eaten a few pieces of.

Do your dogs do this, by the way? I could be sitting right on top of the thing all afternoon and she’ll still get a little puzzle snack somehow.

Get your priorities in order.

Maybe it doesn’t have to be about ticking things off an arbitrary bucket list. Maybe it’s about finding experiences that move you rather than trying to keep up with the Joneses.

Why are the Joneses always doing all these cool things, by the way?

Think about what you want out of this life and work to make it happen. If you’re stuck at the moment, think about what you want out of today and work toward that. Try to stop feeling so stuck in the mundane.

Stop spending so much time on social media, too. Again, I’m talking to myself.

Don’t let outside stuff affect your journey.

That whole schtick about how it’s not the destination but the journey is some hooey. It’s definitely about the destination.

If you’re at a job you hate so that you can afford a week in Aruba, the Aruba part is going to be way better and more fulfilling than the bit that got you there.

I’m talking more about other people. There will always be people out there doing more things and having a potentially better time than you at any given moment. 

You could be having the best time at some poolside bar situation and there could be someone out there swimming with the manatees at the same time, which is much cooler.

You could be having a delicious sandwich from your favorite place and someone out there could be having a very similar sandwich, but for free. 

How does that happen? I’m not sure. There must be some free sandwich network I don’t know about but would love to be a part of.

READ MORE: Eating is my favorite, so obviously I love a good food tour. Use my guide to help you act right on your next food adventure.

I’d just like to remind you that your journey through life is your own. How you get through that journey is up to you, or at least as much of it that’s in your control.

Note: I’m not talking about fate here. I’m talking about things like money, time, family responsibilities, etc.

You don’t need to one-up everyone to find value in your day-to-day life. 

Focus on one-upping yourself, instead. 

If you thought yesterday was awesome, make today even better!

I’m mostly kidding. That kind of lifestyle isn’t sustainable. It’s more about getting yourself out of ruts when you find yourself feeling kinda meh about your life situation, or finding comfort in both expected and unexpected ways.

Fun fact: Everything doesn’t have to be a competition, but it’s cool to try to find a bit of joy here and there.

Avoid FOMO by seeking joy, basically.

If that means a plate of smoked trout that knocks your socks off, so be it. I’ve cried over less.

Have a snack.

That FOMO may actually be hanger. When was the last time you had a snack? I find that a tube of Pringles always puts me in a better mood. Have you tried that?

Do something weird no one knows about.

No matter where you’re at, there’s always something quirky you can go out and do to cure what ails you. In this case, the malady is travel FOMO.

Wander the streets of your town to find paths not covered as extensively by travel bloggers out there.

Get over FOMO by finding that diamond in the rough that serves up delicious takes on mac ‘n cheese, then tell me about it so that I can have FOMO about it.

You may end up supporting a small business that’s been struggling, or you may get food poisoning. Good stories will come as a result either way.

READ MORE: I love an underrated destination. Here are a few of our favorites across the United States!

Go pet your dog.

Petting a dog makes me feel instantly better, every time. It doesn’t even have to be my own dog. I meet dogs on the street, on patios, and at dog parks, and I want to pet them all. It feels nice, they like it just as much as I do, and everyone wins.

Bad FOMO is a bad MOFO.

Alright, that’s enough of that. I hope you enjoyed this very serious post about what to do when you get FOMO, including embracing a little perspective about the situation.

FOMO sufferers, I find that it gets better when you take a less serious approach to pretty much everything.