Perhaps you remember the furore, the incredulous tweets and side-eyeing features, about Leomie Anderson’s personal acronym, FOMOMG (fear of missing out my life goals). When the Victoria’s Secret model and founder of blog-come-clothing brand LAPP coined the phrase it was with an innocent greenness that the internet tore into.
Though she’s enjoyed global success in many people’s eyes she was spurned for having the audacity to admit she wants the normative goals of many – own a house, earn a million by age 25 and help her mother retire early. In the year since declaring these aims, she’s received a lot of flack, undergone a certain amount of introspection and come to decide that these are her goals and she’s going to achieve them, albeit with less of a time limit stipulated. We caught up with the model before she went on stage at the Google Curiosity Rooms to find out how she’s planning to go about achieving them.
1. Don’t Set A Calendar Target.
‘One of the first things that I say to people when it comes to setting goals when you have an unpredictable schedule is that sometimes it’s not down to you. Modelling is a very unpredictable environment so when it comes to setting goals I try not to give myself time restrictions. Time restrictions add pressure and it makes you feel disappointed if you don’t achieve something within a set amount of time then maybe it just wasn’t meant to happen within that time. The goal could still be attainable but without the time limit. Sometimes having a calendar target, it’s not attainable, it’s not realistic.’
2. Have A Mood Board
‘At the beginning of the year I always like to make a mood board and I start a new notebook so I can keep track of what I want to achieve. I record everything, even the small steps as they might take me towards that goal. ‘
3. The Small Steps Count As Much As The Big
‘At the beginning of the year, I set myself all these tremendous goals. When obstacles came my way I felt weighed down because it felt like it was slowing down my progress. In my head, I was thinking that I was going to be 30 soon so need to achieve so much by the end of this year. I was crying every other day. I didn’t understand how I was going to push my modelling career, I didn’t understand whether it was me, whether I needed to change things in my life, I just didn’t know how to overcome this mental block. When I sat down started to analyse everything that I had achieved this year I started to realise that I am a lot further than I originally thought so one of the things that I really want everyone to think about is the small wins. It’s the small wins that build up and outweigh the obstacles. The small steps that you think are so insignificant are actually everything when it comes to achieving your goals. I also try to spin everything into a positive because at the end of the day things rarely go as smoothly as you plan them to. If you always expect the process to be exactly as you dream it then you’re always going to be disappointed with some of the steps when they don’t go the way you planned.’
4. Never Compare Your Achievements
‘I had to learn from very early on with modelling that there is no rhyme or reason as to why people get work and others don’t. I had to stop comparing myself because it made me feel bad and added pressure. I used to be, “By the end of this year, I want to have shot XYZ for Vogue,” and then when the end of the year came and I hadn’t achieved it and I felt disappointed in myself. You have to stop comparing yourself and just accept that everyone is individual and their journey is unique to them. I use to think, “Naomi Campbell used to get all of these things and she’s black and she’s British so therefore now I can get all these things too,” but life doesn’t work that way! Honestly, you don’t know what that person has done to get that position so there is no point in comparing when you don’t have all the information to compare in the first place!’
5. Know That The Internet Is Not The Place To Seek Validation
‘I was just talking to my friend Duckie [Thot] about this. People on social media love to have their say on things – on your career, on how well you’re doing, how you looked when you did a particular job. It’s the same for the press. You just have to know they’re there to sensationalise and exaggerate things so it’s entertaining for people to read but it’s still my life at the end of the day and my life is not entertainment. It’s something I’m living. Once I realised that these people are always going to have something to say I had to get over it. It was a harsh advice but there is nothing else that you can really do. There is always going to be someone who has something negative to say but it’s all about understanding that maybe they’re just projecting their own insecurities onto you and once you realise that you understand the internet is not where you should go for validation anyway.
Leomie Anderson's Goals 2019….
‘My goals for next year are to bring out more collections for LAPP and to start doing networking events as well for women. I tried to do that this year but it’s a lot more difficult to get people on board than I originally thought! I also really want to get a big beauty contract but I know that those things come when they’re meant to! I’ve seen so many of my friends get them and I’m so happy for them but I understand that that’s their journey and I’m on my own journey.’