Jealousy Happens: Work Hard

I hate what jealousy does to people. It turns them into small, nasty, ugly, shrewish versions of themselves. It’s heartbreaking, really.

And you can’t really call someone out on jealousy. It feels arrogant. No one looks in the mirror and says “I’m just a jealous insecure hater.” You’ll hear about murder and drugs in the confession booth before envy.

I would hope we’re self-aware enough by now to celebrate those who are more successful, more talented, more gifted: because many of them worked hard to get there and there’s a lot to learn from them. I would hope we could promote the less skilled and the newly started, since we have much to offer to them too.

But most of the time, a person’s success or gifts threatens our position, and we instantly react with petty insecurity. We hold others down with unfair judgement and baseless criticism. It’s obvious when it’s jealousy, yet we justify it a million ways because we hate to admit being insecure.

It’s okay to not be “good” at something or to be “less” than someone else at it. In a perfect world, we would all learn from other each other and encourage our gifts. But since it’s not a perfect world: when you’re good at something, just be ready. A person doesn’t have to be a “hater” or a “troll” to be jealous of you. You’ll get attacked from even your closest loved ones when you get slightly better. Receive what’s right, dismiss the rest, and sharpen your craft regardless.

— J