Dooley Noted: 3/12/2014
Jealous mates, jealous friends, jealous family, jealous colleagues, jealous Facebook acquaintances. Jealousy runs rampant, and it is everywhere.
Social media seems to make it even more intense, with folks who post all that is rainbow cheery and joyous, purposely leaving out the flip side to every joy coin.
I have felt jealousy from both sides, as have my readers.
But my understanding of jealousy is starting to become clear as day.
Whether you see it as a motivator or a hindrance, jealousy has one certainty: energy expenditure.
Jealousy burns fuel and is likely to send you down a path of getting burned.
You want what someone else has for yourself. But you may have no clue to the sacrifices it took to get what they have. You don’t see the whole picture.
Would you be willing to sacrifice? How can you even know without knowing their journey?
So, if I feel the pang of jealousy, I know very well it’s an energy-driven path.
I can feed it, wanting for things I cannot currently have.
Or, I can redirect that energy onto my own path, my own goals.
I’m the only one who knows all my internal struggles, wins, losses, joy and pain.
It’s wasted energy seeing yourself as a reflection of anyone but yourself.
If I find myself wanting what others have, I remember I only see myself in the mirror. I remind myself to stick to my business and stop wasting energy on the business of others.
It’s your journey, and no one else gets you like you do.
Stay your course, and you have little energy to waste on jealousy. You’ll be too occupied getting your own good work done.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley