“Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to greatness” – Fulton Sheen
“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 neighbor to have them through envy” – Aristotle
“Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind” – Buddha
Have you ever stopped and asked yourself why you aren’t getting what you want? Why your life hasn’t turned out a certain way or why others have what you desire? Have you taken an honest inventory of your days lately or do you choose to ignore the fact? Do you settle for allowing fate to take its often disappointing course when you have the ability to design a life of your liking? Do you covet without realizing it?
The ambitious mind that takes the initiative unlocks opportunity. The covetous mind shuts the door of fortune and promise behind it and in this it blocks itself from its true potential. It is true that we have all at times chosen to be stagnant or complacent yet there are some who have developed jealous thoughts and taken covetous action despite the matter. What has one done when they have chosen to envy what another has instead of actively pursuing their own crown of crowns?
A jealous thought in itself displays ones insecurities, digging one in further to the trench in which they presently reside. Stagnation leads to further discontent and in staying put we have made the choice for a period to refuse to advance or to adapt, perhaps spending our precious moments moping or throwing daggers at others while some are using this time to advance, grow, build and to profit. What is it that one could possibly be doing with their time that is so great that it should pull them away from prosperity, development, or the satisfaction of fulfilling their life’s potential? I can’t think of much!
Could it be that the magic password to our personal fortune is hidden behind the code of how we decide to use our time? One cannot complain about not having what they want when they are not willing to put in the effort that is necessary to get to where they aspire to be. Often I wonder how well off some would be doing if they directed the energy they applied to covetousness and complaints toward working on their craft and developing themselves. After all, those feelings of deep down jealousy and discontent are nothing more than a message from our subconscious that we need to step it up, that we are off course, that we can do and be so much more. They are a wake up call, they are a reminder of that barrier that needs to be cleared or that cancer that needs to be removed.
We all have talents, skills and gifts. We all have unique opportunity and experience. Why be jealous of someone else when you have your own unique thrown on the horizon to conquer? Perhaps yours is more glorifying and significant than that which has been acquired by the one that you are jealous of?
Why not take inspiration and motivation from those you may feel a hint of jealousy towards? Is it laziness or self-doubt that hinders us from finding out what these individuals are doing that has lead them to what you are looking for? It is the small minded who look at life through a narrow lens as there proves to be no one-track path to achieving your real potential. What’s promising is that there are many different pathways and en route to your best self, hence the importance of continued persistence and regular self-reflection.
Could it be that you aren’t getting what you want out of life because you are not doing all that you can with what you have? It seems to be a regular pattern that those who take the time to complain and point fingers, refuse to change for the better. Perhaps the reason for this is because facing what needs to be faced can be difficult and it requires taking responsibility for your life and your actions. In order for things to change for you, however, you must change… And begin working on yourself!
So you say that you are doing all that you can with what you have without desired results. Could it be that patience is the valuable quality that you are missing? Rarely is it that one’s life changes over night but rather over time with applied discipline, one begins to see progress. Out of all of the people that I have met, there are a minuscule amount who make the effort to do everything they can with the opportunities that are available to them consistently over time.
The price of not striving for one’s potential is living with as well as ending up with the monotonous, the average and the ordinary.To be unordinary, we must begin to live differently! We must be willing to do more, risk more and be more! It is essential that we remember that we have attracted what we have gotten in life so far because of the person that we have become, so let’s toss the jealous thoughts and start earning what we deserve! Let’s take our complaints and pointed fingers and direct them toward ourselves! Let’s start working on what we can control and stop wasting our time with the rest!