#Jealousy can’t be selective

When we see someone doing better than us in any area of life or work, there is an emotion of jealousy that crops up almost unknowingly.

We wish for the same success for us as well, without realizing the input that has gone into getting that kind of outcome.

We be jealous because we are self-critical of ourselves, and in the course to achieve what others have done, we change ourselves, and our own lifestyle and sometimes this change has a higher possibility of impacting us negatively.

The book, The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, talks about how we almost reflexively pick a specific aspect of people to be jealous of.

He quotes Naval himself, jealously…

“Jealousy was a very hard emotion for me to overcome. When I was young, I had a lot of jealousy. By and by, I learned to get rid of it. It still crops up every now and then. It’s such a poisonous emotion because, at the end of the day, you’re no better off with jealousy. You’re unhappier, and the person you’re jealous of is still successful or good-looking or whatever they are.

One day, I realized with all these people I was jealous of, I couldn’t just choose little aspects of their life. I couldn’t say I want his body, I want her money, I want his personality. You have to be that person. Do you want to actually be that person with all of their reactions, their desires, their family, their happiness level, their outlook on life, and their self-image? If you’re not willing to do a wholesale, 24/7, 100% swap with who that person is, then there is no point in being jealous.

Once I came to that realization, jealousy faded away because I don’t want to be anybody else. I’m perfectly happy being me.”

And the answer is there, maybe difficult but once we are aware of the emotion, we can work through it.

Pretty interesting book and there are loads of learning from it, will share such multiple learning over a period. Watch this space and share your own experiences, sharing is not only caring but also curing.