Choosing the right tools is one of the most important decisions that you’ll have to make when you start a new JavaScript project. In this four-article series, I’ll give you my tips and tactics so you can choose the best libraries for your JS project.
Click here to read the previous articles in this series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
Are You Suffering from FOBO?
This last article of this series is not about the technical aspect of choosing libraries or frameworks. Is about the anxiety of having to choose the best option when there are plenty of alternatives out there.
American author Patrick McGinnis created the concept of FOBO or Fear Of a Better Option. It’s the feeling of stress when you have to make a decision and there is an oversupply of available options.
You feel pressured to choose the best alternative, but the feeling doesn’t disappear after making a decision. After you pick an option, a person suffering from FOBO might start feeling regret for not choosing a “better” alternative.
People affected by FOBO might also procrastinate and delay the decision. Or abandon the project altogether (if you’re in the position to do so.)
How to cope with FOBO? First, it’s important to come to terms with the fact that it’s impossible to make a 100% perfect decision. Why? Because it’s impossible to have all the necessary information. You don’t know what the future holds, for example.
Any decision has tradeoffs, and that’s OK. You’ll always leave something on the table when you choose something, but if you don’t choose anything, you’ll leave everything on the table.