Turn Your Envy into Inspiration and Cultivate Your Own Joy

"Jealousy is the art of counting someone else's blessings instead of your own." ~ Harold Coffin

What happens when your neighbor moves into a palace and leaves your house in the shade?

What do you do when your friend's business grows while you stay paid?

How do you view those who are dating in the neighborhood, seemingly in the aftermath of a marriage, when arguments in your house can be resolved with a knife?

Although each of us goes on a journey, we as human beings often compare ourselves with others. The habit can start in the classroom at an early age— “Look at how good Johnny is; why not behave that way? "

Facebook is a real-time demonstration of almost everything we know. We have friends who post their children’s successes, recording love notes for their spouse, and photos from unusual summer holidays. We get a glimpse into the lives of others and with eye contact we think of our own.

While these comparisons can be a slippery slope that leads us down a “never enough” rabbit hole, we can also use this technique to our advantage.

When Difficult Feelings Happen To Righteous People

Usually, when a moment of jealousy comes, we push it aside, deny it, or fall into a ditch and drown. Are there other options?

A good friend was telling me about the amazing work of decorating the ongoing interior of her new and shiny apartment. I remember feeling an earnest desire to please him. But even though I tried to avoid the truth, I was jealous.

I took a deep breath and thought for a moment, deepening those feelings within me. I was not jealous because I was a bad person or I secretly wished my friend had died. I was sad because I knew the pain of not knowing I wanted a well-designed home that I could call my own.

Compassion and love for me was the solution; I have decided to spend the next few months building a home that has brought me happiness.

To achieve greatness, we must use both good and bad tendencies to gain advantage.

Here's how jealousy can help and cure:

You see the positive results of our friends, neighbors, or coworkers and you feel sad. Ask that feeling. What causes you to feel that way?

If a colleague gets a promotion and I don’t get it, maybe I can take an internal audit and decide what ways I can be a better employee. On the other hand, I may not even be in a job that suits my personality.

About eight years ago, I toured Israel and Thailand for nine weeks. I remember feeling that one of my closest friends felt jealous of my trip around the world.

Can a relationship tolerate jealousy to some degree? Yes, as long as we do it right.

A year later, he set out on a journey to visit his brother, who was teaching English in Cambodia at the time. Instead of sinking into his jealousy, he sent it to move his life and fulfill his dreams.

As long as we see that we don’t need to blow up someone else but instead we can cultivate our happiness, we are able to use any emotion to our advantage.

When some people achieve a certain goal or level of success, envy is not a desire to get rid of that person. Instead, if we learn to respect our feelings, we can discover hidden treasures within us.

We can experience new passions and unfulfilled dreams. Unknowingly we want to unknowingly build better relationships with our partners or children. We can see that we aspire to be a leader in society.

Instead of focusing on someone else, we can look inside, set our own goals, and then work. The question is, how much do we want? How determined are we to work for our lives?

Even if we do not achieve our goal, when we do our best with the cards used that is the worst step to success, regardless of the consequences.

Maybe We Have Once We Need It

It is also helpful to think that we probably have exactly what we need.

Consider the seed sown in the ground. The mother's nature puts the seedling in the dust, sometimes in bad weather. Underground, seeds must break, tear, and break open to accomplish its intended purpose.

How do we know that the universe is sending us our way to unlock our unique energy? With this in mind, there is no need to compare. Each seed is given the nutrients it needs to grow.

Happiness Increased

There is a common saying, no human life is perfect. Someone else's condition may look good on the outside but there is always something underneath, a challenge we may not be aware of, or a skeleton in the closet.

Yes, each person has his or her own unique challenges, but that approach always takes a toll. This belief has almost certainly led to the desire to challenge someone else. I believe we can do better than that.

We can elevate our thinking to see that success and optimism in the lives of those around us only lead to a cycle of happiness in our lives. When we can truly be happy in a friend's marriage, the success of our family members, or in another's glory, then the joy we feel only grows.

When we live in a way that the happiness of others cannot only come to us, how much happiness can our lives find?

We may not be married, but is it not encouraging to know that such love is real?

We may feel stuck in our work, but isn't it encouraging to see someone else take a risk and go after his or her dream job?

We may not have had a good relationship with our own parents, but does it not strengthen your faith to know that the incredible obligations of the parents still exist?

We feel empathy when a loved one is faced with a challenge.