What Has Helped Me: I Don't Have FOMO

Besides my stubbornness, which you might consider good or bad depending on who you are, there is a habit that has helped me. I am not interested in a lot of things.

I do not watch sports. I do not listen to secular music. I do not hold conversations about famous people. I am not aware of the trending conversation online. I do not argue, or lend my voice to public discourse.

I have never felt left out when others were rushing to parties. In fact, I have been to parties where I just stood in the corner clutching my bottle of water.

No matter how trendy a subject, brand or activity is, I do not engage in it if I do not find it enjoyable— and I enjoy very few things.

I remember 2020. There was a surge of fraudulent activities because of the clarity with which the Corona break made young Nigerians realize how empty their lives were outside of school. I refused to do fraud. It was the easiest escape with the highest potential. First, you would make money. Secondly, you could enjoy the independence the money provided.

Almost all of my friends jumped in. They were making money. I was perhaps the only one who did not, though I painfully paid for that with empty pockets. It was not because I did not like (easy) money—I do—or because I did not see what it could do for me. I did.

My reason for not doing fraud was not only from a moral standpoint, I just did not find it interesting. I thought it was an insult to my intellect, to have to cheat someone to make money. I knew I could find better—and more mentally stimulating—ways to make money other than scamming.

This is 2026, and I still find a lot of conversations, hang outs, chats, phone calls or even introductions boring. I can tolerate them to some extent but beyond that, I cannot hide how uninteresting I find them, especially with people who do not do what I do.

What keeps me engaged are things that pique my curiosity: writing, starting new ideas, thinking, having soulful conversations. If anything pokes my mind, I dig and dig into it. If it does not, I do not think about it.

But the disadvantages of this trait is that I can be absent. Once I laser in on one thing, the whole world falls behind. I can be with you and be far away. That is why I am selective of what I do, where I go and who I talk to, else I get interested in what I am not supposed to.

Another disadvantage is that I get bored of activities, and people too, sadly. I can initially find someone interesting but once our interests do not align, I unconsciously withdraw. I can still talk to them, but just not as deeply as I would want to. It is not always intentional.

However, regardless of how uninterested I am, I always stay polite and friendly to people. I know I cannot be mushy with everyone. I may not give much of my time, but that does not stop me from saying “hello” or checking up.

I was once accused of being boring, and honestly, I do not blame her. It is true. I cannot talk about what you care about, because frankly, I do not care. I guard myself from what I do not enjoy and focus on what I love.

One might argue that my life is over-optimized, and they may be right, but I would rather have an over-optimized life than a spontaneous one with under-utilized potential.

I would rather enjoy the little time I have to rest, than use it for what I do not enjoy, where I do not want to be, with whom I do not like enough, talking about what I would rather not.

I do not fear that I am missing out on anything. Anything I am missing out is what I am supposed to miss out on. This has made me impervious to peer pressure, and stay focused on my path. Most importantly, it has kept my peace. Let the world burn.