From Competition to Inspiration: Turning Envy Into Growth |
Understanding Jealousy
Take our Jealousy Test (Women)
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Pay attention to physical and emotional signs of competitive envy.
Identify where feelings of inadequacy or comparison began.
Challenge assumptions and separate fact from speculation.
Use competitive envy as a tool for growth rather than rivalry.
Recently, I received an email from someone who read my article The Psychology of Competitiveness and asked, “what practical steps can someone take to shift from feeling competitive with another person to feeling inspired by them instead?” I thought it was a great question. Who hasn’t felt envious competition at some point?
Competition is a normal human behavior. Some of us are wired to be more competitive than others — it’s baked into our personality. An issue arises when competition turns us into someone we don’t recognize, or it creates a grudge that won’t go away. It may also be that instead of encouraging you towards self-improvement, competitive envy is holding you back.
You may become competitive or envious of your coworker who just received a promotion. Or you may see someone’s social media posts and wonder why you can’t have a life like theirs. You may be praised for your artistic skills, but someone has joined your friend group who has won awards for their work.
Sometimes our brain views others as a threat when they might have something we don’t or be better at........