Who doesn’t get jealous? It is an emotion that nearly everyone gets and sometimes it happens when we have nothing to be jealous about. Nobody likes going throughout their day just mad at the success of others. So how to stop being jealous of others’ success?
In our day and age of technology and information, social media has intensified our jealousy. Think about it, social media allows us to see what everyone around the world is doing. From random Joes to celebrities and even governments, we all are connected through online activity.
However, jealousy can often mess with your emotions and mental health. But, that does not need to happen. Instead, by noticing and accepting the early stages of jealousy, you can use actions that can overcome those feelings.
Below are three ways for you to not get jealous of other people’s success.
Envy and Pride Are Peas in a Pod
While it sounds like a good idea, it is not useful to express pride when faced with envy. This can sound something to the effects of:
- “He has a bigger house, but my car is more expensive.”
Having those thoughts come up can make you feel good at the moment, but then what happens when someone has a more expensive car than you? That is just the way things are.
So what do you do? You have to live and let live. There will always be people better than you in a myriad of ways. When you deal with jealousy, you shouldn’t be giving yourself little pride-filled comments. It doesn’t help you in the long run.
What Is Fair?
How can you stop being jealous of others’ success when we all make generalizations? Sometimes those can get turned into harmful thoughts and stereotypes about others. It can be easy to make those generalizations as well when that is all you know about it.
Well, life is not fair. Things where people get married before you, get their dream job before you, and other success may not seem fair to you. That is because it is happening through your own eyes. It is based on your perception of fairness.
Stating that you deserve something more over others is extremely unhelpful because you are thinking that other people deserve less than you. That is not what life is about. You should not push down others in order for you to succeed. That mindset is a total waste of time and energy on your part. There are things in life that can and will be out of your control. Just accept it and focus on yourself.
Move from Jealousy to Compassion
Jealousy can be a toxic trait should it not be maintained properly. When you give into envy, you reduce that person’s life and all of their achievements and struggles to that moment.
It’s not fair for them because you most likely have a narrow perception of what their life is. You may have a good grasp on your friends and coworkers, but when you see their success online, it doesn’t always translate to their life. They will have bad days and struggles like you. Putting them on a pedestal with your envy is not productive.
Instead, turn that toxicity into tranquility. The best way to do that is to meet envy with compassion. You should feel joy and admiration for those who succeed in their goals. You may feel that you know someone inside and out, but they can struggle in life. It’s not just your life as well, there are nearly 8 billion people on this planet with their own unique lives.
Conclusion
It can suck to be jealous. It can be hard to see somebody have something that you desperately crave. But guess what? There are hundreds of people out there who have that exact thing and you aren’t frothing at the mouth over it.
There are thousands of people out there who experience jealousy every day. It’s easy to feel these feelings and act on them immediately. But, what that does is it cements your way of thinking without opening your mind to other horizons.
Keeping yourself as a bitter and envy-filled person will damage your mental health for years to come. It will make you never happy as you constantly struggle with the successes all around you.
So how to stop being jealous of others’ success? You can mind your own business, be happy for other’s successes, and realize that it’s just life. It won’t be easy and you will fail a lot on the way to success, but that is part of the process. Success comes with failure, the important part is to get back up again and keep on trying.
