Why Be Envious of Anyone?
Posted: Monday, March 15, 2010
by Terry Mitchell
http://commenterry.blogs.com
When you really stop to think about it, does it ever make sense to be envious of someone else? I think the only logical answer is no.
To begin with, we can only see part of what's going on in someone's life at any given time. We may see the good things that are happening to them as well as all the stuff they might have, but we have no way to feel what they feel or know about their potential pain. We also might be so focused on the positive things in their life that we might miss or ignore the negative things, which may be far more numerous.
Also, just because a person seems to be doing well now, doesn't mean it has always been that way for them. For all we might know, most of their life up to that point could have been a miserable existence - a life that we could not have tolerated.
Those are just a few things to consider the next time you are tempted to be envious of someone.
This Article has been viewed 1,436 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)Great advice and reminders.My best,SteveSteve, thanks for reading. I'm glad you liked the article.
Hi Terry.It's best to be grateful and thankful for what you have and not worry about what others might have. Still, I've lately come to wish that I lived on horse property. :) Oh well, I can't really afford to care for a horse anyway. Just a dream.Great article,DianneDianne, thanks for reading and commenting. I'd glad you liked the article.
"Be careful what you wish for," could also read, "Be careful what you envy, you know not what may lie within that pretty, shiny box. Good article- Thanks- EllaElla, thanks for reading and adding your insight.
True. Envy will get you nowhere, and it is only hurting you. There will always be inequality..But injustice is what really ticks me off. Bad things happen to good people, and some bad people continue to succeed no matter what.Yes, envy is never the answer, although I too have a major problem with that injustice thing.
I don't envy people who have more riches than I do. I also do not condemn them for having more than I. good article TerryDavid, I like your attitude. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Here is an interesting thought. I was in the presence of an impressive colleague the other day. I thought, "I wonder what I would have done if I had started my career with him?" He has done some amazing ground breaking things. Then as I was telling my wife and daughter about the experience, I realized I would not have met her, or conceived my child. Just like a Kung Fu Panda "turtle" at the tree moment!James, you are right. We always need to consider the big picture.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.