Entrepreneur Naval Ravikant explains that jealousy is often misplaced.
“Jealousy is such a poisonous emotion because, at the end of the day, you’re no better off, you’re unhappier, and the person you’re jealous of is still successful or good-looking, or whatever they are.
I realized that all these people that I was jealous of, I couldn’t just cherry-pick and choose little aspects of their life. I couldn’t say I want his body; I want her money; I want his personality.
You have to be that person. Do you want to actually be that person with all of their reactions, their desires, their family, their happiness level, their outlook on life, their self-image? If you’re not willing to do a wholesale, 24/7, 100% swap with who that person is, then there is no point in being jealous.”
If you are jealous of someone, you must choose to be jealous of the whole package. When you look at jealousy from this angle, it is hard to be jealous of anyone.
A composer or a musician in the era of Mozart might have felt jealous of Mozart – the child prodigy and iconic composer of that time. But if the full package is looked at closely, Mozart also constantly struggled financially, had strained relationships with his father as well as colleagues, and suffered from depression and anxiety.
Whether its the most iconic public personas or your seemingly perfect neighbors, everyone starts revealing sharp edges under a closer look. People we admire or envy often also have traits that we don’t want in our lives. Next time when pangs of jealousy rise, ask yourself: are you willing to do a wholesale 100% swap with the person you are jealous of?
