If You Scroll Through Instagram & Feel Envious Of Other Peoples’ Lives, You Need To Read This

When you're figuring out how to be happy, one thing can get in the way of it: envy. But learning how to not be jealous or envious can be difficult.

Do you scroll through social media wishing you had the same perfect life as that Instagram Influencer? Does dealing with the other PTA moms make you wish you had their great bodies? Or desire the ways in which their lives seem easier?

When you’re dealing with the so-called green-eyed monster — envy — it can be dangerous to your sense of well-being if not dealt with in a constructive way. But, once you learn how to stop being envious, you can focus on loving your own imperfect life.

Learning how to stop being envious begins with one of the best tools for loving yourself and your life: awareness. In order for awareness to really work for you, it’s important to talk about what envy is, how it compares to other not-so-pleasant emotions, and why you may experience envy.

Know, too, that despite a rise in consciousness around thanks to social media, it’s an emotion that has been around for millennia. In fact, it’s one of the so-called Seven Deadly Sins in Christian teachings. And the origin of the phrase goes back to Greco-Roman times — (lypē) — that translates into "sadness at another’s good fortune".

No wonder envy feels icky, right?

What is the difference between envy and jealousy?

Although related, envy and jealousy are two different emotions. Envy is when you desire what another person has. This can be about how they look, a talent or personality trait, or a material object they possess. It’s about coveting what that person has and wanting it for your own. This can also be what you perceive the person to have that you find desirable and wish you possessed.

Envy involves two people. For example, you are envious of another PTA Mom. Not only is she beautiful and in great shape, but she’s also funny and possesses these crazy-mad people skills. You yearn to get along with folks as easily as she does. Not to mention, you pray for your body to look more like hers. That’s envy.

Jealousy is when you are worried that someone may take what you currently have and usually involves three folks. So, you may be envious of how she looks. And how she seems to be able to get along with everyone. But, when you think she’s getting super-chummy with your best friend, you may be jealous that she’s going to take your best friend for her own and you’ll be left without a BFF.

While neither emotion feels good to experience, when it comes to awareness, it’s important to know the difference.

Why do semantics matter when you want to learn how to stop being envious?

Jealousy and envy are often used interchangeably in our culture. You say you’re jealous of how someone looks or of something another person has. But, understanding that envy is about coveting or desiring something another person has and how that differs from the fear you have that you might lose something you already have can be an important distinction.

Semantics can matter when you’re exploring personal growth.

So, if you want to learn how to stop having an emotion that feels rotten, identifying the exact emotion you’re experiencing is critical. It’s important if you want to learn how to stop being jealous or envious.

Dissecting those so-called bad emotions for exactly what they are can be a fabulous tool to getting on the path to loving your own life.

Why do you experience envy? Because you’re a human being.

It’s so easy to look at the outside lives of others and long for what they have. It’s practically effortless to compare your life to the lives of others folks. You may discover that you assume that the other person is luckier, smarter, or more attractive than you.

When you constantly look at the "after" pictures of someone, of course, you have a flicker of feeling as if they are better or more disciplined than you.

Envy’s exasperated thanks to the constant scroll of social media and how the lives of celebrities and splashed across magazines, newspapers, and the internet.

You experience envy, because you, too, have big dreams and desires. And you crave to experience everything life can offer. And others seem to have a handle on, especially when you perceive that that person is experiencing lots of "good" emotions.

At heart, envy is about wishing you were as happy and satisfied in life as another person seems to be.

And actually, that can be the key on how to stop being envious because on the flip side, it can be just the motivation you need to get off the couch and do something about your life, right?

How can envy become destructive to your sense of well-being?

Envy — and jealousy — both become destructive when you focus on what you are coveting rather than what you have. It becomes destructive when you realize that, rather than spend time working on making your own life better, you instead, obsess over the life of someone else. It can become a compulsion or obsession to constantly check someone’s social media feed.

Obsession over the life of someone else takes precious time and attention away from tending your own life.

Envy also can lend itself to finding pleasure in another person’s misfortune. And wishing others to fail is certainly a path feeling as if the goodness in the world is something scarce. And hard to obtain.

While envy happens to all of us, the reason it’s listed as one of the seven deadly sins is that it weighs down the soul in such a way that it can feel impossible to find happiness.

So, if you want to know how to stop being envious, you need to understand it’s destructive nature.

You will experience envy some time in your life. Simply allow yourself to feel that flicker of envy, dig into what it really means, and how you can channel it for your own life.

Is FOMO (the Fear Of Missing Out) related to envy?

The Fear of Missing Out is when you feel as if other folks are having awesome and exciting experiences in their lives. And therefore, your life feels lackluster or boring. So, FOMO is related to envy because you, too, want to have those same exciting experiences. You want to travel, go to rock concerts, and eat at fancy restaurants.

Thanks to FOMO, you may also experience jealousy.

When you see a post on social media of all your friends at a party or event without you? Of course, you feel jealous and left out. Why weren’t you invited, too? It can make you feel depressed and insecure, too.

This is how FOMO, envy, and jealousy are intertwined.

Now, here’s what you really want to know: how to stop being envious.

One of the things I’ve learned on the path to curating a life that is loving and nourishing is understanding that all of our emotions are meant to be felt. When you allow yourself to feel them, you can move forward in your own life.

The first key to learning how to stop being envious or experiencing any so-called emotion is to do just that. Stop, identify it, feel it, and then choose not to wallow in it. With practice, this can happen in a matter of minutes.

You will have the ability to stop yourself and not wallow in envy. You stop yourself before you tumble down the rabbit hole of obsessing over what someone else has.

Once you’ve stopped yourself from wallowing and obsessing, you can dig into what the root cause of feeling envious was. Begin this with compassion and a gentle inquiry.

Ask yourself:

What does she have that I want?
Why do I really want that?
And what would that give me?
How would I feel if I had it?
What ways can I experience that same emotion?
Where do I have traces of what she has? Present in my life right now?
How can I work towards getting what it is I want?

Use a mix of curiosity and honesty to discover your answer. Dig into the deeper reasons envy or jealousy may have surfaced. If you’re struggling with that, you can try the "Five Shades of Why", which is a way to find both your surface answers — and the deeper ones.

If You Scroll Through Instagram & Feel Envious Of Other Peoples’ Lives, You Need To Read This

Comparing yourself to strangers on the internet will never help you achieve your dreams.

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