'Gratefully Received' Letter to the Psychologies Magazine (01/11/22)

I recently went on a holiday in a forest resort and, on my way there, read your September issue, featuring an article about JOMO - the joy of missing out. The section on being present and content with where one is in life really spoke to me. As a full-time PhD student who is also working as a researcher, my schedule is busy, and I often get stuck in 'striving mode'. Making a 'not to do' list was excellent advice, and I did just that right there and then! This included not checking emails, not answering text messages straightaway, and not overthinking things, or worrying about putting on extra weight after eating too many high-calorie holiday treats.

I did not feel compelled 'to be busy having fun', the way I usually do on a holiday. Fun is about doing what you feel like doing, when you feel like doing it. Things such as yoga and learning a new skill were dully scrubbed from my holiday 'schedule' because, suddenly, I no longer felt the need to improve myself. I am not perfect, but I am finally content with who I am and, as I get older, I teach myself to value my wellbeing more.

Now that my holiday period is over, I want to continue with the amazing tool of a 'not to do' list, as I found it to be so liberating. New challenges and life-long learning are enjoyable for someone like me, but it is also important to seek out micro moments of happiness
that bring you meaning outside of professional achievements. I believe this can decrease the feeling of life rushing by.

Thank you an amazing magazine, full of great and useful advice.