Jealousy is a very powerful human emotion. Often, it makes us do things that we normally wouldn't do; it makes us spend money we don't have (to have what another has), it makes us say things we don't mean (to make the other seem insignificant), it can even lead us to murder (to get rid of the pesky competition).
Jealousy applies to many situations. An employee may be jealous of the success of a colleague. A man may become jealous because his wife is spending more time with other men than with him. A woman may be envious of another's woman's new shoes or handbag.
Jealousy of these forms can mean resentment, it can mean an urge to have something another person has, it can be a feeling of wishing the other person ill because of what they have, or it could be a feeling of possesiveness, of selfishness. To actually pin the emotion down is difficult, but its usually a combination of these human feelings.
And it does not necessarily have to be negative either - jealously has driven mankind to do some very wondrous things. The Wright brothers, as children, envied the ability of birds to fly. They later went on to become the first humans who participated in powered flight. Rivalry has often worked to encourage siblings to work hard and try to best the other. Many times, jealousy leads to competition, and taken positively, this attitude improves the human condition.
But it does have its bad side. When jealousy consumes us and makes us do things that we would never consider under normal circumstances. Un-focused jealousy leads to hatred, leads to anger, leads to resentment. It makes us do irrational things: a man will beat his wife who he thinks is cheating on him, a mother would murder the daughter of another mother so that her daughter can make the cheerleading team. Its just so incredibly irrational, but sometimes we just can't help ourselves.
Overcoming jealousy is a lot easier than it sounds. How hard can it be? But it is.
What works for me is to feel good about what others are enjoying. A person scores 10As in the exams. Great. Well done. A friend gets a raise and i don't. Congratulations to you. There must be a reason why i didn't get it, so next time i'll improve myself to get the same. My lady friend prefers someone else over me. That's ok, because if i really love her, i would want the best for her, i would want what she wants. If being with another makes her happy, then i should be happy too.
Whenever you feel jealous, don't let the emotion overwhelm you. There is always a positive side to everything, and when you find it, all will be ok. The jealousy will fade. After all, its just an emotion, right?
