What’s the Difference Between Envy vs. Jealousy (And How to Overcome It)

What is the difference between envy vs. Jealousy? Envy and Jealousy are feelings we experience when we want something we don’t have. Envy and Jealousy can be destructive and can prevent us from achieving happiness. However, we can overcome it by understanding what they are and what they push us to do.

Envy and Jealousy are two emotions that many of us experience. They are different emotions, even though we often use them interchangeably. Understanding what they are, how they differ, and how we can use them to our advantage is an essential step to a journey of contentedness and satisfaction.

What Is The Difference Between Envy & Jealousy? Envy: a feeling of discontent or covetousness concerning another’s advantages, success, possessions, etc. Jealousy:  resentment against a rival, a person enjoying success or advantage, etc., or against another’s success or advantage itself.

Cause Of Envy Or Jealousy Although they may sound similar and often can cause similar behaviors, they are, in fact, different feelings and emotions. Envy occurs internally when you want something that someone else has. That causes a feeling of sadness and discontent in your own life. You want something that you do not or cannot have, and you want it.

Are Envy and Jealousy Healthy and Normal? A healthy and normal person may experience emotion and choose not to act on that emotion and recognize that the emotion exists but does not need to affect the way they feel and act. They can also endeavor to make sure that they work to reduce feeling that emotion in various ways. Consider adopting an abundance mindset.

How To Overcome Envy Or Jealousy As always, in case of extreme emotions or emotions that seriously hamper a person’s day-to-day living, you should seek out professional help. Envy or Jealousy is caused when we want or desire something that someone else has. How do we overcome envy or Jealousy? We overcome it by not wanting what another person has. Easier said than done, right?

You cultivate gratitude by noticing what you have and appreciating it. You can do this by practicing mindfulness, starting a gratitude journal (or a similar gratitude challenge), and taking time to focus on the goodness in your life.

Making sure that you are not focusing only on yourself helps you be more at peace with your life. But, on the other hand, focusing only on yourself causes discontentedness, which, as we said, leads to envy and Jealousy.

What Happens When We’re Envious Usually, when someone is envious, they focus on that feeling of envy and allow it to guide them. They become obsessed with the object of their envy and work to get that item no matter the cost. This quickly becomes toxic as envy is usually not caused by an object but by a feeling of discontent in their own life. So achieving and acquiring that object will not make them happier. A sense of contentment is one of these things that money cannot buy.

When we feel envy, we are focused on something we do not have. When we feel Jealousy, we are focused on someone that is threatening us. These are both things that we cannot control- we cannot control things we do not own or other people. That upsets us and makes us angry. However, we may think that we can control these things.

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