Jealousy is natural, people feel it all the time. In fact, I would go as far as saying being jealous shows you care (especially in romantic relationships) because it shows you value and cherish someone. However, that’s where the value of jealousy stops.
Jealousy, if left unchecked, can harm relationships and friendships. You sometimes see jealous people being angry and resentful when others around them are doing well. You will see them as grumpy and unthankful even when things are going their way. Jealous people are not fun to be around, that’s not even a hot take; it’s just true. They suck the energy out of the room. As adults, we should be able to regulate our own feelings and emotions without putting them on other people. We should build harmony, peace and joy, encouraging each other to fly as far as we can.
I want to share a few ways we can deal with jealousy once it starts to creep into our lives. You might not be the jealous type, but perhaps you can use these tips to help one of your friends who is quick to be jealous.
Ask Yourself “Why Am I Jealous?”
When we are trying to deal with our own jealousy, we need to be honest with ourselves. As people, we sometimes lie to ourselves to feel better, but that’s a bad habit.
We need to be honest, no matter how painful it is. Because that’s how we grow and learn.
So, for example, someone might be jealous because their friend’s business is doing much better or because their friend gets more attention. If the person asks themselves “why” they may find out that they aren’t working as hard or they aren’t as kind and compassionate as their friend.
Maybe their friend works overtime to secure business deals. Maybe their friend doesn’t treat people like trash and is kind a respectful which leads to them getting more attention.
More than being jealous, we need to analyse these moments and see what we can do better. Because if we settle for being jealous, it only hurts us in the long run
Be Open About it
If your partner or someone around them does something that makes you feel uncomfortable or jealous; it’s best to be open about it. None of us can read minds, or guess how some of the things we do may make someone jealous (it varies person by person). So instead of playing the guessing game, we should have a sit down with our partner and discuss ways to address the behaviour and the jealousy.
This goes without saying but please don’t shout or scream at your partner or friend. Not everyone does what they do to hurt us. Approach with compassion.
Practice Gratitude
In cases where you feel someone else has more than you do, it may be time to pause and reflect on what you have. Often times we spend hours on social media, seeing others doing amazing things and it makes us think their lives are entirely perfect. Not only is this not true, but sometimes we appear the same to those around us.
I believe we should take some time, each and every week, to appreciate everything we have and everyone around us. For the last few years, the internet has been buzzing about the grind, the hustle. Sometimes being a goddess means being in your element — your zen.
Don’t let the world tell you your value. You determine it for yourself. Be grateful for being a human being with thoughts, feelings and dreams. There’s only one of you in the universe, that’s irreplaceable 🙂
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Meet me next time, as I look into more ways we can deal with feelings of jealousy. Take care, my lovelies.
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