Envy is the most ridiculous of ideas, for there is no single advantage to be gained from it. A famous old saying said, "When you compare what you want with what you have, you will be unhappy. Instead, compare what you deserve with what you have and you'll discover happiness." It's not trying to keep up with the Jones' that causes so much trouble. It's trying to pass them. Nothing gets you behind faster than trying to keep up with people who are already there. If envy were a disease, everyone would be sick. What makes us discontented with our personal condition is the absurd belief that others are so much happier than we are. Envy consumes nothing but its own heart. It is a kind of admiration for those whom you least want to praise. Helen Keller says, "Instead of comparing our lot with those who are more fortunate than we are, we should compare it with the lot of the great majority of our fellow men. It then appears that we are among the privileged." Worry about what other people think of you, and you'll have more confidence in their opinion than you have in your own. Poor is the one whose pleasures depend on the permission and opinion of others. There are many roads to an unsuccessful life, but envy is the shortest of them all. - John L Mason, from the book Conquering An Enemy Called Average. (to find out more about this book, please go to httP://www.freshword.com/resources) |
