The temperatures are steadily rising, and so are our expectations! We’ve been so limited in what we’ve been able to do in the last year-and-a-half so now people are ready to get out and enjoy life this summer, and make up for lost time... but is this the best approach?
Ronnie Hormel, a therapist with Birmingham Maple Clinic joined host Tati Amare to talk about our new FOMO - or Fear Of Missing Out.
He described how many of us had to curb and curtail our plans last year, leading many to have very high hopes for this summer’s activities. This, however, can be a mistake. On a neurological level, he explains that because the expectations are so high, the feel-good hormones like dopamine and serotonin you experience when excited for an event, won’t match up when the event actually happens. In essence, the vacation, party, or wedding won’t be as exciting as we think it will be.
The way to fix this gap is to go in with reasonable expectations. Don’t plan on this being the best summer ever. Instead think ,“I will have fun this summer.” The more you manage your own expectations and have realistic plans, the more likely you will be satisfied and happy with the big event.
Hormel pointed out that we all just spent the last year being very flexible with plans, so go into the summer with that same flexibility. Also, since we are used to having to do things differently, this is a great time to mix things up and reassess how we want to do things moving forward, and get creative. Go into summer thinking of it is a fresh start.
Watch the video to learn more.