Fear of Messages
It seems like it has become a habit to always respond to emails, social media messages, blog comments, and posts. However, this only makes you prone to distractions.
But why do people feel that urgency to respond to things right away? It’s mainly because of fear that people might think you’re slacking on your job, fear that customers might abandon you, fear that people will see you as rude for ignoring their messages.
The anxiety of not checking our messages is a modern-day phenomenon driven by the fear of being left out. – Rachel Simmons
So how can you get rid of these fears?
- Imagine yourself without those fears. You prioritize who you will respond to and do so not out of fear, but because your reply is important. This will significantly reduce the stress out of the need to send replies to everyone as fast as you can.
- Face those fears. Determine those fears and deal with them by disconnecting for a few hours. Then see what happens, how people reacted, and whether your fears are true or not.
- Now that you know how your fears and the urgency to respond are ruining your life, free a few hours of your day every day by not responding. Gain more control over when to give a response.
Break Free from Keeping Up With Information
As discussed earlier, the need to get the latest information or check the latest messages stems from fear.
If you don’t want to miss an opportunity, then control your need to stay up to date and spend your time on pursuing real opportunities instead.
If you’re worried that you won’t know the bad things that are about to happen if you ignore messages, you will still know anyway. Family and friends will still tell you about an approaching storm, a possible economic collapse, or any significant event that might affect you.
If you are concerned you might experience something bad for not being informed, the opposite might happen. You can spend your free time being creative. If you’re really worried, read the headlines of your favorite news sites, then tune out for two days before checking these sites again. Repeat this until such time when you can spend more days being tuned out and see if something bad happens. You can also do the same your social media accounts and you’ll soon realize that you won’t miss anything either. You will then break free from the urgency of staying updated and enjoy your life more.
