Hi there, don't expect to see a list in this article. You would not find any.




I'll start with a short russian tale: A farmer finds a magic lamp, he picks it up and rubs it. Immediately, a genie appears and promises to grant whatever he (the farmer) wishes. The farmer thinks over the offer for a while and finally made a request saying: "My neighbor has a cow and I have none. I hope that his cow drops dead".



I can feel you shaking your head at the farmers stupidity as you read. I can feel you almost laughing at how dumb this farmer is!.



"Envy is the most stupid of vices, for there is no single advantage to be gained from it!" (I borrowed this quote from Rolf Dobelli, who borrowed it from Balzac).



But Bros, calm down. Before we read the farmer's crazometer, let us delve into his shoes as the purpose of envy can only be justified by the one who feels it.

The story behind the scene is: The farmer has always dreamed of owning a cow, he didn't own one and it made him sad. To worsen the case, his neighbor has one.
The genie granted his wish and his neighbor's cow dropped dead on the farm. The farmer hears the news the next day and dances galala for 30 minutes in his living room. He is exhausted and falls on the ground in a sitting posture saying "That's the stuff... We're now equal".
After 2 days, the farmer remains sad because he still has no cow! If he had requested a cow from the genie, he and his neighbor would have also been equal and an ad-on is a lasting joy that he now owns a cow.



From my extension of the story, one can now see how envy impaired the farmer's thinking at the detriment of his own progress.



In Nigeria, there's a popular phrase used to describe those who envy a lot: "Enemy of Progress". In reality (not stories), envy alone has nothing to do with the status of your neighbor's progress. So the unknown truth is that "Enemy of Progress" only affect your own progress. Envy makes our judgement/thinking ill - which will only affect us.



You and I fight envy almost everyday, it is deeply engraved in our DNA (so don't feel bad about yourself when you find yourself engaged in envy). When a real friend of yours get an increment, you may be really happy for her/him.

Exercise: Next time a friend gets lucky, pay attention to how many times, deep in your mind, you fight envy!
You know you are happy, so you keep shooting otherwise-thoughts on sight - but that doesn't mean they don't come flying.

(Author: twitter.com/patabah)
When a friend or sibling for instance, gets a gift and we don't, our default thought is that those around us actually thinks we're envious - this feeling could make us have the face of "when-they-sing-happy-birthday-for-you-and-you're-just-standing-in-the-middle-smiling" at times. You try to fight it.



Only envy will make you buy "I pass my neighbor" generator just because your neighbor has one - you may even forget to realize how it may affect you financially!




Master your stuff and struggle to be at the top of your own niche. That's all that matters.



In sum: We only envy those we dream to become. Always think of how pathetic this fact sounds whenever you try to envy someone.




Feel free to narrate your experiences and drop your suggestions.





Sincerely, badthinds.

You're right, we only envy those we aspire to become.

Since I realized this, I developed a little trick: Make those you envy your mentors.