Let's Talk: Reasonable Jealousy

Let me draw your attention right away by saying jealousy is okay, in fact in some circumstances it could be encouraged. Now that I've trapped you in reading this post, let me elaborate. Jealousy could be stretched and branched to hundreds of different categories, just like any good versus evil topic. However, for the sake of this discussion, let's talk about reasonable or good jealousy versus hateful or bad jealousy.

Starting first with good jealousy. Being jealous won't necessarily be something I call for. There are limits to jealousy that cross into the hateful category. Reasonable jealousy pertains to things that could be within reach. Things like a relationships you wish you could have, food that you wish you could eat, or places you wish you could travel. They are simply things that you want that can't have at that very moment. Let me be clear, the idea of "can't" can remain as temporary, depending on your worth ethic. The right amount of jealousy will push your forward to try new things. You'll be able to take the leap in certain areas you never thought possible, because your jealousy and inability to fall behind will keep you pushing forward. And that's a good thing. Humans are incredibly complex creatures and if we had the answers to life all written down in a book. There would be those of us who study it and those who couldn't care less. Those who would wait for somebody else to read it and then ask for the answers. A jealous and envious cycle. The issue with jealousy lies in how well you can control it and preventing it from leading to envy and greed.

On the other side, hateful jealousy is prevalent. It could be similar to reasonable jealousy in that you want things that are in within reach. But you want them without the effort that reasonable jealousy forces you to put in. Hateful jealousy ties closely with greed and could even be used as another term, envy. Jealousy is not necessarily positive, but on the flip side envy is only negative. Envy is a controller similar to fear. Envy of wanting what you can't have, with a willingness to never put in the effort or work necessary. Leading you to be consumed by greed, fear, and failure. It's a reason why you find yourself lashing out or putting other people down. There is no light in envy, envy only wants and only takes. Every human being wants to make a better life for themselves, but not every human being is willing to put in the effort. Envy is a destroyer, in the case that you find yourself guilty, preventative measures need to be taken. Allow yourself to understand the issue and work through it, or in the very least, push as hard as you are able, back towards reasonable jealousy and back towards growth.

Accept your reasonable jealousy and work with it, also WashYourAss

- Noble