Feb 4, 2020
Is There More To Your Jealousy?
Jealousy is a misunderstood feeling that plagued the hearts of our people.
I misunderstood this feeling for most of my life. Maybe I picked this up from others. Maybe I was born this way. I cannot say for sure, but what I do feel with utmost certainty is that I was meant to change this. Feeling jealous was not something that I admired. It frustrated me every time I felt it because it made me feel quite terrible. Wanting to change it faced me with many opportunities, but I lost these battles to my emotions. One night I sat down and had a deep conversation with myself. After some time, I began to realize that these opportunities may never stop coming so if I don’t do something different, my life will remain the same. This was enough to get me to act on my awareness. Now, instead of jealousy, I choose to be inspired.
This simple change in perspective in a vital moment changed everything for me. To act on an opportunity for the first time asks for a lot of heart and mental effort. It sometimes feels much easier to give into what we always did. But the result of choosing to be better is the most satisfying. You learn so much about yourself. You build trust in yourself. You change your life and begin to regain some control of everything within your control. Changing your perspective towards something that frees your mind, feeds your soul. It takes away the regret and is much better than something that feeds off of your soul. You begin to see others in a different light because they no longer are competitors. You start to work with them instead of against them. They become your inspiration in moments of weaknesses. They help you see the bigger picture and persevere in ways that you never knew were possible. Finding strength in others helps us overcome our own weaknesses.
“Jealousy is both reasonable and belongs to reasonable men, while envy is base and belongs to the base, for the one makes himself get good things by jealousy, while the other does not allow his neighbour to have them through envy. “ — Aristotle
When Abraham Lincoln became president, he asked his fellow candidates to join his cabinet. Kobe Bryant, a great basketball player, would use other players as inspiration to push him passed his limits, passed the voices that told him to stop. There is much splendor to be found in this feeling. Being jealous of others is a victim mindset enslaving most in complacency and misunderstanding. Being inspired by others is wisdom allowing the drive and efforts of others to push you through the excuses that hold you back, which hold your spirit in complacency. We know that our minds can only push us so far. The excuses quickly find their way in. The fatigue. The reasons to quit become much more convincing. In these moments, when you look to others, you find strength that you never knew existed. Strength to quell the voices. To help you break barriers and push limits. All you need to do is watch others take your breath away. Then be inspired to do the same.
If you find yourself caught up in jealousy, take a moment and dissect it. Find out why. Find out what you could learn from this. Then take what is necessary and let go of the rest. When you find inspiration in others, remember that:
You Will Always Be Your Only Competition
When looking to others further along the path that you follow, it’s easy to want to be where they are. The acknowledgements, the accomplishments — they’re all spectacular in their own way. You can look at their choices and see whether they are for you. You can allow them to push you further than you thought possible. But to be so consumed by another that you begin to harbor ill feelings is terrible. It is a tainted perspective plaguing and consuming us. It may get us far, but is this the path to follow? Do we have to track dirt in our footsteps for others to follow? Am I fool for wanting it to be different? Am I a fool for wanting to live my life making my own decisions, facing my own consequences and looking to others for inspiration when I lose hope? If I am regarded as a fool for waking up each morning and looking at myself in the mirror for a moment before I begin brushing my teeth and mentally shout at myself to be better than I was yesterday with subtle thoughts of others who are doing the same, then I will die a fool.
“We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be.” ― May Sarton
Also, keep in mind that not everyone is blessed with the ability to turn jealousy into inspiration. So you must:
Remember To Pick Others Up
It isn’t only you. We are all living our life. Many are misguided by the initial impression of their feelings. Many look to themselves in moments of solitude and question everything. So when you see another living their life, remember their circumstances are different. Their life is a result of their choices. Better or worse than yours, they are creating a life with what they have. They may not have the belief to create the life that you wish to create, but they have enough to live the life that they wish to live. So be kind to them. They may never know the impact of a hopeful smile, but you could change that. I sometimes believe that a simple smile is enough to change someone’s life. To give them hope in their perspective of hopelessness. As you build your life, on the rare occasion that you meet others doing the same, smile your illuminating smile because we are the hope for a brighter future.
“Real learning comes about when the competitive spirit has ceased.” ― Jiddu Krishnamurti
Jealousy is a misunderstood feeling that plagued the hearts of our people. People who never had the resolve to look passed the initial impression of the feelings that consumed their hearts. They never had the opportunity to find the splendor in this feeling and its capability to drive a person past their limits. They didn’t but we can. We know better now. We can end the suffering of our people. We can represent the hope that this world lost. We can show our people how to rebel against the tyranny that is their thoughts. Thoughts that convince masters that they are slaves. Maybe those who never stood up were meant to be enslaved by their thoughts. Were you meant to be enslaved by what you think you know?
Invest In Your Existence, Kind Reader…
