

Could FOPO be preventing you from fulfilling your potential?
Oct 22, 2025
Explore the concept of FOPO, the fear of people's opinions, and how it affects everyday choices. Discover insights from psychologist Michael Gervais, who offers strategies in his self-help book. Learn about the three stages of FOPO: anticipation, monitoring, and adaptation, and how they can lead to losing authenticity. Understand when FOPO shifts from a harmless concern to a debilitating obsession. Dive into the evolutionary roots of this fear and find out when it’s time to seek help.
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FOPO Blocks Authentic Growth
- FOPO stands for the fear of people's opinions and can block personal growth, creativity, and authenticity.
- Michael Gervais links FOPO to deep rejection fears that push people to seek external validation and conform.
Three Stages Of FOPO
- Gervais describes FOPO unfolding in three stages: anticipation, monitoring, and adaptation.
- These stages escalate from rumination to hypervigilance to changing your behaviour to avoid rejection.
Laughing To Fit In
- The host gives a relatable example of adapting to avoid rejection, like laughing at a coworker's bad joke.
- This shows how FOPO can make you lose authenticity to blend in socially.