My guess is you’ve heard of FOMO or “Fear of Missing Out.” I heard a new one the other day—JOMO, “Joy of Missing Out.” At first I misread the term, thinking someone doesn’t experience JOY when they feel like they are missing out. But then I realized that no, this is about experiencing JOY because you are missing out on something that gets in the way of your JOY.

Let’s dig into JOMO a little more.

At some point in the evolution of JOMO, it was often referred to as something for introverts who tend to avoid going to functions so they have less interactions, don’t worry about what to say, may not want to feel “awkward”—you get the idea. Introverts especially get the idea. I would like to offer that as the term has continued to evolve, JOMO has also taken on an identity and course of its own as something all of us can embrace—not because we don’t want to be around people, but because we want to avoid the “below the line” actions of others, especially when it is difficult to call these actions out or we are trying to avoid the “silence must be agreement” assumption that often happens in group settings.