Whether it’s a platonic or romantic relationship, jealousy drives a wedge between people. It can break up even the strongest relationships because it’s insidious and damaging to the soul. Envy creates unnecessary competition between people who never feel satisfied because they constantly need to prove themselves.
If their friend gets a raise, they must earn a promotion or look for a higher-paying job. When they notice a friend buying a new house, they suddenly feel like shopping for real estate to “win” the unspoken competition.
As with all negative emotions, jealousy only darkens the mind and blackens the soul. It might feel cathartic to give in to envy instead of ignoring it, but the high won’t last forever. Eventually, allowing emotions to cloud your judgment will backfire, creating more stress in your life.
You might make rash decisions, like buying expensive things to outshine a friend or colleague. Not to mention, your mental and emotional state will become imbalanced, making it difficult to think about anything else.
Intelligent people also don’t entertain the idea of jealousy because they realize happiness comes from within. No material item, relationship, or anything outside themselves could make them feel complete. Therefore, they see no point in keeping up with others’ greed and vanity.
People often envy others because they have low self-esteem and need validation to enhance their worth. But insightful people know that sweet words of affirmation can never compare with the bliss felt within the soul.
When you live in a scarcity mindset, you never feel satisfied, even if you own the world. Therefore, it only makes sense to question the source of jealousy and understand its flawed nature. If envy never goes away no matter how many material items you have, why even acknowledge the feeling?
People might know you as a cheerful, encouraging person who always tries to make others smile. However, envy can easily change your optimistic persona into someone your friends don’t recognize. Much like the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, you may act like a different person when jealousy strikes.
Intelligent people note the difference in their energy when they experience various emotions and try to avoid those that bring them down.
Most people feel jealous of someone during their lives and don’t think anything of it. However, this emotion can add significant tension and stress to life if you allow it to fester. A passing moment of envy won’t cause much harm, but repeated instances of jealousy can have dangerous consequences. It can destroy friendships, corrupt the mind and soul, and lead to feelings of inadequacy after a while.