As I am writing this, I am sitting in the garden on a weekend without any plans to go out. I’m happy to miss out on all the events and parties that are happening in Berlin right now. >Joy of missing out means relishing to stay in, enjoying your own company, and getting to work on your own projects >
Why? Because I’m an introvert. I refuel energy by being alone. I get to reflect, be grateful, get new ideas, get to plan how to spend my time meaningfully with those important to me and how to express the love I feel for them.
I rarely suffer from FOMO, because I got to accept how limited my energy is. I know that it’s good for me to spend lots of time alone: learning, working on projects, journaling, meditating, exercising, reading… It makes me a more interesting person, because that’s where I get most ideas and knowledge from.
Saying no to most things makes me someone who has clear values and priorities. It reserves the energy to be good at what really matters to me. I want to go deeper with what I already have. I still have many “Baustellen”: becoming more grateful, loving, mindful and disciplined. I want to find more time for reading. I want to get better at capturing ideas and making notes. I want to express and share more of my thoughts and learning. I want to invest in relationships. Restricting myself to only a few important people but really getting to know them. I want to find time for learning. I don’t find much time for learning projects at the moment. I want to get better at dancing. I want to keep practicing the ukulele consistently.
Life is a single player game. It might sound cynical and egoistic, but I think it has a stoic truth. You need to be happy with yourself to give to others. I acknowledge that there are benevolent and giving people who put others first, but I know that I can’t give long-term and wholeheartedly when my needs are not fullfilled. #maslows-pyramid Anything other than yourself might be taken away at any time: friends and family, money, your belongings, your home… When my well-being does not depend on external conditions, it’s resilient so that I can focus on giving to others.