How many times due to our human nature we get envious or jealous of one another? I am one such person who is always in envy. Come on! Don’t mistake it for being jealous. This envy is the envy to emulate and not envy that leads to jealousy. I just grow envious of all people around me who are doing well as I want to feel inspired by them to achieve my own dreams.

Before going further,  first of all, let me make a distinction between being envious and being jealous. Otherwise whole of my post would be taken with wrong connotation. My post is my tongue, and just as there is a saying- Tongue doesn’t have bones but it has a power to get your bones broken ( of course  I would be in that position, if  I utter sheer nonsense using my tongue). Seriously, I want to keep my bones intact!

Envy is when you want to have something someone else has and jealousy is when you’re afraid that someone is going to take or snatch away what you own or have. But for sure Envy need not always carry a negative connotation, it can be negative if it is envy with resentment and not envy for emulation. Envy can be inspiring and positive if used to hold a desire to equal another in achievement. Emulation is desire to excel out of inspirational envy and is not negative. Whereas Jealousy always implies a feeling of resentment toward another.

Another distinction in my opinion is that people who we envy generally are in our hearts and people who we are jealous occupy our minds. That is the major difference at least for me. Ponder, does this make sense at all!

Now coming back to my statement that I am envious of all my friends doing better and great. I repeat this, with total honesty as this envy keeps me on my toes, not to be complacent of what I have achieved ( did I?) and what I own( do I?). I look up to such friends and close acquaintances who are striving hard and reached  a point where they can take pride in what they have attained. We should envy such people. And I make it a point telling them, “Hey, I really envy you”. Indirectly telling them that they inspire me.

I am not at all jealous (you can well understand the difference). This envy make me zealous and not jealous. I am filled  with zeal when I envy someone to outdo my ambitions and short term goals to reach my much larger goals in life.

Go and tell the world, you are envy but do not if you are jealous!

Reason- If it is fire of envy to emulate, it will refine you  and if it is fire of jealousy, it will burn you out!

Keep Sparkling!

©Rekha