Many of us seem to feel easily frightened when we see others succeeding in a certain area of life. It’s difficult for us to feel glad for them; instead, we experience feelings of jealously and jealousy.
We unintentionally compare our own lives to how we perceive the lives of others today. The rise of social media and our sugar-coated image of other people’s activity through their photos and updates have only served to exacerbate this in many ways.
But what actually occurs when we go through it? How do we react when we observe what others are doing and are overcome by a strong urge to follow suit?
What if feeling envious was beneficial to you? If you employ it correctly, it might be.
Don’t Confuse Envy With Jealousy
Jealousy is not envy. The first step to overcoming such emotions and developing a stronger sense of self is realizing the distinction between jealously and envy.
Wanting what another person specifically has is called jealousy.
Like seeking a specific person’s girlfriend/boyfriend or job. In some circumstances, the only way to gain what you desire is to harm, betray, or even kill the person who possesses it in order to own exactly what he possesses.
But envy is the desire for everything that someone else has. If you like a successful author, it doesn’t mean you have to put them to death in order to succeed as a writer. Work on your writing, and eventually you’ll be able to compete with them. You two are both capable of writing well.
Envy arises from the belief that someone else has something that you want or desire, such as money, success, a wonderful relationship, or social influence. You want something that you think another person has, which is comparable to jealousy.
The distinction is that envy happens when you merely want something that someone else has, and jealousy is based on a view of your possible loss to a rival, someone, from the dread of having something taken away from you.
Always damaging, jealousy. However, when utilized properly, envy can be advantageous.