It is human to compare yourself to others. And with the rise of social media, that has become very easy. Instagram sometimes feels like a showroom of people who are more successful than you. Do you ever see yourself jealous of someone else’s success? You are certainly not alone.
In English, they even have a fancy term for it: “professional jealousy.” From a rational point of view, you also know that it is not necessary at all. But how do you make sure you don’t have this jealousy anymore?
Stop being jealous of other people’s success
1. Life is not cake
Somehow, the idea has crept into the society that success is like a cake. That only a certain number of people can be successful and that after that it’s “o.” Where does that idea come from? No idea. But of course, it’s not true.
And that’s an excellent thing to think about if you ever feel jealous because high school Mandy seems to be hitting success after success on her Instagram. Just because she’s successful doesn’t mean you can’t be successful.
2. Recognize your own value
“Remember that you see the backstage images of your own life while you see the stage image of others.”A nice exercise is to zoom out on your own life. Look at your life how a stranger or a friend would do that. It is often easier to recognize your successes and value.
3. Think about what success means to you
It can be effortless to feel jealous when you see someone land a managerial position or land a dream job at a great company. But is that right? Would you also like to achieve that, or does success mean a lot of free time for you, for example?
If you have clear what success means to you, it also becomes easier to grant successes to others that do not quite suit you.
4. Ask yourself why you are jealous of their success
It may also be that you are jealous because you do want to achieve that. Then you have these feelings because you hold yourself back (for example, because of fear of failure), and the person you see passing by on Instagram does not.
The trick then is to turn it around. If he or she has become successful in what you want to achieve, that person is living proof that it is possible. It’s a nice kick in the butt that you also have to take action. And if you are smart, you also learn from others. What did he or she do to get there?
Remember the fact that others are successful does not diminish your worth. There is plenty of success for everyone; there is no need to be jealous.
