“MY GOODNESS ! THIS IS TERRIFIC ! Great !”
“Nobody thought you would be a CEO”
“How did you manage it ?”
These are real voices that one hears at an Old Boys’ Meet or at an alumni association gathering or when one runs into a school mate decades later. Soon there is a mental calculation of annual income, life styles, et al and depending on whether one is better placed than the other one would be seized with a feeling of self-congratulation or envy.
WHAT IS NARRATED ABOVE happens in our daily lives too. We remain reconciled to our station in life until we learn accidentally or otherwise what our peers are paid or of the privileges they enjoy. The reflex action of comparing oneself with others is entirely natural but we could actually turn our states of smugness or envy to better advantage if we introspect a little each time we meet a person who has done better than us in life – regardless of the person’s position in the social hierarchy in terms of wealth or position.
ENVY CAN BE QUITE A CORROSIVE and negative emotion. But it need not be if we sincerely attempt to convert this feeling to one that actually propels us to improve our own position. Envy can actually be a wake up call, something that should prod us to do better or prompt us to ask the question – are we doing everything that we should be doing to take us to what we really aspire for ?
PERSONALLY, THE INDIVIDUALS I ENVY most are those with a high degree of emotional intelligence, those who maintain complete calm regardless of the turbulence around and who refuse to be provoked by anything and who have their own firm world view of what is good for them. I am equally envious of persons who manage their time well with single minded devotion to the completion of jobs they have to do. Then, there are the resilient ones too who never say die despite the odds they are in and who are able to unearth the silver lining in every situation and turn the position to their advantage. When you meet such people, simple conversations with them provide you with so much education and insight.
ACTUALLY THERE ARE COUNTLESS THINGS we can learn from those we encounter daily in our lives – lives that we take for granted and whose existence we may be even indifferent too. When we stop seeing and listening we miss the chances for our own personal renewal. Instead of getting needlessly restive of others’ success or well being it would greatly help if we turn the searchlight inward and focus on what we need to do to improve our own stations in life.
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