Do You Often Feel Jealous of Other People's Lives?

[Carrie Hopewell]

Jealousy is something will all experience. I think it's one of the worst feelings actually. It's toxic and really harmful. I hate looking at celebrity interviews (which I limit myself to and mostly have no interest in) and feel bitter over how charming and happy they seem or how beautiful they are. Not all celebrities are happy just like not everyone is, but they seem to lead charmed lives and that gets to a person no matter how irrational it is. And it's not just celebrities that cause bitterness. The other day I was feeling super jealous of a close friend whose life is just so much happier and normal than mine.

Do you often feel jealous of others? What triggers it? How do you cope? Let your bitterness flow...

 

[WillowFromBuffy]

Yes! I watch the celebrity interviews. I read their books. I am also jealous of friends.

My way of coping is this: I have accepted my own quirks. There is always something about other people that I could not accept in myself. Like, they may have cool hair, but a rubbish taste in music.

 

[Bop]

I feel jealous but at the same time I wouldn't want to be who I'm jealous of, It's just that I want what they have in my life.
I get triggered when somebody doesn't appreciate what they have, especially if I don't have it. In terms of dealing with it I usually just feel sorry for myself for a while and then get over it.

 

[Carrie Hopewell]

My way of coping is this: I have accepted my own quirks. There is always something about other people that I could not accept in myself. Like, they may have cool hair, but a rubbish taste in music.

I get that. Like, Joseph Morgan is gorgeous, plays the guitar, paints, apparently has a great mother, is happily married, is a good actor... But, I guess, I dress better than him? And... and...
See, this is the issue. I can't compare ourselves because he always wins. I might be a better person or some people might like me better, but he'll always have the better deal in life and he'll always be better on paper. I can't compare myself to him or point out his flaws. I need to accept that I am what I am, and jealousy won't change it, and I need to love myself and all that crap, but it's so hard!!

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

Must admit that sometimes I DO get jealous of super rich people...with those huge houses, which is something I yearn for. 🙁

 

[WillowFromBuffy]

I get that. Like, Joseph Morgan is gorgeous, plays the guitar, paints, apparently has a great mother, is happily married, is a good actor... But, I guess, I dress better than him? And... and...
See, this is the issue. I can't compare ourselves because he always wins. I might be a better person or some people might like me better, but he'll always have the better deal in life and he'll always be better on paper. I can't compare myself to him or point out his flaws. I need to accept that I am what I am, and jealousy won't change it, and I need to love myself and all that crap, but it's so hard!!

He looks like he has never seen a Lars von Trier film. Would you trade Trier for landscape painting and a stale marriage?

 

[Priceless]

Yeah I think it's only the money I get jealous of. I tend to think that even if people are happy now, it won't last, and vice versa. Everyone has bad times, it's just that we might not see it and they might not show it. And don't read glossy magazines!

As the great Sheryl Crow sang

I don't have diddly squat
It's not having what you want
It's wanting what you've got

 

[Living Dead Boy]

I never really was the jealous type. Of course, if someone had a Super NES classic edition that's apparently in limited supply, I'd probably get red in the face a bit. But then I realized that everyone wears a mask, and that some people are better actors than others. So whenever I find myself becoming just a tad bit jealous of someone's supposed "charmed" lifestyle, I realize that they have some personal demons that they're fighting as well as I am, and that makes me feel better. And some people have put in the time, dedication and work to achieve whatever they've achieved, so if anything, I try to turn my jealousy into inspiration. Instead of being envious of them, I'd rather study them, so I can create my own "charmed" life. 😎

 

[WillowFromBuffy]

Yeah I think it's only the money I get jealous of. I tend to think that even if people are happy now, it won't last, and vice versa. Everyone has bad times, it's just that we might not see it and they might not show it. And don't read glossy magazines!

As the great Sheryl Crow sang

I don't have diddly squat
It's not having what you want
It's wanting what you've got

Priceless!! You are a ****ing genius! That and this song is /thread

 

[thrasherpix]

This isn't much of a problem for me, especially for celebrities. I just assume they and their lives are hiding a bunch of bad stuff they don't want the world to see. Heck, even many of the things celebrities pretend they don't want public is cynically manipulated to increase their fame or wealth.

And I can't help but notice that no matter how relatively charmed someone's life is, people always find ways to lose appreciation for what they have while still bitching about their "first world problems." Sometimes even the most powerful people in the world seem to display a persecution complex with a sincere belief of their own oppression that is morbidly fascinating to me.

 

[brinkster130]

I do and I hate it. It's usually over big houses and expensive materialistic things. I know things like that won't make my life any better, but I would ~*really enjoy*~ that 5 million dollar home with beach views and a fancy Chanel bag or two.

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

Watching entertainment news shows is a real killer sometimes. I think most of us would really like to travel by private plane, jetting off to Hawaii on a whim. Or being able to walk into someplace and buy ANYTHING, without checking the price tag.
But the main one for me (like I mentioned before) is the huge house, surrounded by land you own, and no neighbours. Basically, a compound sort of deal. I don't care about diamonds that much (I lose rhinestone earrings all the time, and I'd DIE if I lost diamond ones!) but it would be nice to have the option of owning them.
Oooh! Oooh! But I WOULD love to eat at fancy restaurants a lot! You know, huge Kobe beef steaks, and those super expensive desserts...yeah. That would be awesome.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

I have had an interesting professional life as an engineer and a lot of people have envied me. When I was in school, the space race was big news and a lot of people wanted to be part of it but one by one, their dreams fell away. But one day, my boss came to me and told me I was being moved out of remote sensing and onto CTS, the Communications Technology Satellite. I had hit the motherlode. A lot of people would have wanted to be me. I could tell you a lot of stories about that and other spacecraft jobs that are either uproariously funny or mind-bogglingly idiotic (don't tempt me - I could fill a whole thread).

When I moved to another company, I became a representative of our company in various industry-wide committees and I enjoyed being the voice of a major company. But I never got up to even the average engineering pay until I hung out my own shingle and started consulting. Being an employee had some perks but going it alone actually made my retirement possible.

As far as envying people who made it big in some way - got the best spouse, the best job, the most money - I don't really get jealous because I believe in reincarnation and the wheel of fortune. In some lives, you live well and in others not so well and you need not be concerned about how you are doing in comparison to anyone else because they really don't matter. You reap in one life what you have sown in previous lives and that is the most important aspect of life - learning the skills and tendencies that will serve you well in the future.

 

[Blaze]

I can get very jealous, but definitely not of celebrities. I would hate having their life, I would hate the fame. I'm as much of an introvert as you can get.

I usually get jealous in a general sense when I work really hard but don't get any reward (can be as simple as getting good results in my work), and I see other people work half as hard and get all the good stuff coming at them. I guess this makes me a Slytherin through and through. I also get jealous of people getting big salaries for pushing papers, while I get minimum wage for making potentially life changing and life saving science. I don't even care about making tons of money, I literally just want to make enough money to have a roof on my head, food on my table, a car, and a horse. I could literally have all those things with a very basic wage, but minimum wage is just not gonna get me those (I currently don't have a car, and I eat much less than I should, at least I have a horse and a roof, which is much more than some, and I'm so grateful for that).

I also get jealous of people in relationships sometimes. I absolutely enjoy being single and independent, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous of people settling down with someone they love.

I can get jealous of privileged people, even though I know I am privileged in many more ways than others.

But at the end of the day, I wouldn't want to trade my life for anything in the world. One think I don't get jealous over is who I am as a person. I love my convictions and my morals, and those come from all my life experiences. So even the bad ones, I wouldn't want to trade.

 

[sk]

I can be envious to people who have the time and the money to do exactly what they want.
Especially when we have these moments of overload of work. The last two years I have barely had any time over for my hobbies. It's all about work, work, work.

So the freedom to not having to go to a work every day. Or even just work reasonable hours. Is something I dream of at times.

Never been jealous to famous people. That life seems terrible to me. Would never want that.

/SK

 

[WillowFromBuffy]

I can get jealous get of people who have terrible lives, because their troubles seem romantic to me.

 

[Bloody William]

The wealthiest person I know personally is also probably one of the most miserable, angry and bitter people I know! Money doesn't bring happiness, it just means you have one less thing to worry about. I have four great kids, who I get to spend a lot of time with, a motorcycle which gives me such a fantastic feeling of freedom when I'm out, a roof over my head and food on my table. I feel lucky. I think the key to happiness is reducing the stress and bs from your life, which I work on constantly!! @Carrie Hopewell you shouldn't feel jealous, I don't know you but you seem like a nice person, you always like and comment on my stuff which brightens up my day!!

 

[Fuffy Baith]

Yep! I get jealous a lot! I'm envious of women that are thin and in shape. And good looking! Like, damn you! Lol. I also get jealous of people's dating life. Lol. I want to be hot and date a bunch of people! Lol. Sometimes.

I also get jealous of people in relationships sometimes. I absolutely enjoy being single and independent, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous of people settling down with someone they love.

yea, sometimes I get jealous of people who have a good relationship. Like I work i didn't have commitment issues and could find someone. But I also low being single. Lol.

 

[November]

I did get jealous of other people support system. I was triggered this week by a pretty young blonde horserider in my state, who hurt her back. She provided hourly updates and specific details about her injury, she was bored in hospital on pain meds, she obviously did not realise the injuries were not all that bad. No where near the level of my own back injuries. I was so upset that this girl got endless support from the very same people who told me to shut up and die already, when I injured my back and cried on fb about it. I wonder why did she deserve support and I didnt? Why was I mentally ill for asking for support on social media, and she was a blonde goddess fighting for her life...

I have meditated on it, had a think, and asked myself, at this point, why do I care? These people have proven to be shallow and worthless in society, their entire life goal is for a 20 cent ribbon after a 30 second hack work out so they can take a pretty picture and get 100 likes on facebook. They dont volunteer, they dont contribute to society except to spend their husband or boyfriends money in it. Their entire worth is based very differently to mine.

I am so bloody thankful for the support network I have now- it is mostly online based, and primary school friends, with people who hold the similar values to me. I have no need for that toxic and fake society in my life. I am #blessed to have the odd bunch as my mates.

Its like a mental filter thing - I can only stand so much of seeing that shallow sickness that has taken over the cities. It starts to get me down. So I turn it off, have a break, surround myself with things that give me worth, like my garden, my rabbit, my faith, and my love of this body that has been so badly abused by modern societies standards.

 

[Athena]

I think it's only natural, but no matter what you think you want from another person's life, I guarantee they'll want something from yours. My sister is super skinny and can wear anything she likes, I'd love to have a figure like hers. I have boobs, hips and a butt and she told me she wants a figure like mine.

When we bought our house, I was so thrilled. But then a friend of mine bought a much bigger, more expensive house and I was immediately deflated. Yeah, it's a much nicer house and they have much nicer things than we do, but to be honest their mortgage must be massive, so there's positives and negatives to the situation. When I bought my car, someone I knew bought a bigger one with more toys. And the beat goes on. There's always going to be someone else out there with something bigger/better. I try not to let it bother me. It does, but I try not to let it.

When we get engaged at Christmas 2013, a friend of mine got engaged a couple of months after. Obviously I was really happy for her, but they made a big deal out of getting married before us, whereas I was just happy to have a bit more time to plan. I wasn't all that bothered but I felt like she wanted to get married before me, whereas I didn't actually care all that much, but she kept asking me if it was a problem.

I don't get jealous of celebrities though. To have that constant day after day hounding, I'd rather just stay anonymous thanks.

Basically anyone who says they don't get jealous is either lying, or I'm just totally jealous that they can switch it off!

I never really was the jealous type. Of course, if someone had a Super NES classic edition that's apparently in limited supply, I'd probably get red in the face a bit.

😳