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FOPO … Forget YOLO, FOMO, and JOMO, the new feelings-based acronym is FOPO – Fear Of People’s Opinions. This is a problem, of course, because when you care too much about what people think, you aren’t being the real you.
Want to know if you’re suffering from FOPO? According to psychologist Michael Gervais, who actually came up with the concept and wrote a book about it, these are some of the signs:
- Checking your phone to appear important or busy
- Laughing at a joke you don’t find funny.
- Drinking at a party even when you don’t want to.
- Dealing with ordering anxiety at a restaurant so you don’t hold up the line.
- Staying at your job late because your boss is still there.
- Lying about your age at work in an industry run by younger people.
- Pretending you’ve seen a movie, TV show or heard a band that you haven’t.
Want to rid yourself of FOPO? A good place to start is by just being aware of it – and realizing that most people don’t think about it as much as you are.
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