This article is all about turning jealousy into inspiration with journaling prompts and worksheets to help you along the way. By realizing these 5 facts, you will begin to lessen the extra weight of jealousy you have been carrying and replace it with endless possibilities for you. Having been through this myself, this is truly a beautiful and eye-opening experience!
Fact 1: Comparison is a result of not understanding yourself
A lot of the time, the reason why we compare is because we don’t know ourselves. Therefore, we start to compare ourselves with others who are at similar positions to evaluate how we are currently doing. But the comparison itself is pointless because we all have different timelines. We also have completely different personalities, strengths, and weaknesses that will attract various opportunities tailored to our own unique timelines.
Therefore, the best way to rise above jealousy is to understand yourself. I have a whole article dedicated to this. In short, the more you understand yourself (this includes your strengths, your weaknesses, your interests, how you want to be treated and so on) the less jealous you will feel. This is because you are so clear on what you are capable of that you wouldn’t want to compare your blessings with that of other people.
Fact 2: Jealousy is part of the journey
Continuing from the first fact, jealousy itself is also part of the self-discovery journey. The reason why you are jealous about something is either because you really want it or that it is very important to you. This makes it a wonderful opportunity to understand yourself!
The best way to utilize your jealousy for self-discovery is to journal about it. Therfore, I have provided some journaling prompts below to help you on this. Remember that if you see something great in others and also want it yourself, this means that it is already within you for it to be even visible to you!
Journaling prompts (click here)
- What is something I always felt deeply jealous of in others?
- Why do I feel so jealous about it?
- What abilities or opportunities will it bring me if I already have it?
- What does this say about myself? (things that are important to me, my core values, etc.)
Fact 3: Their success is proof of what is possible for you
We can not take away what’s meant for others by being jealous. However, this also meant that what’s meant for us can not be taken away by others as well. So, instead of feeling jealous, we should look forward to our unique milestones because other people’s blessings and success are showing us the possibilities that lie ahead.
Other people have this beautiful capacity to show you pieces of your future that you can not fully see for yourself yet. They show you possibilities that you didn’t realize existed or told yourself you are capable of achieving.
Mel Robbins (The Let Them Theory)
Mel Robbins talked about this in her book, The Let Them Theory, about how jealousy can be our greatest teacher by showing us how to succeed with other people’s success. I feel like this is such a beautiful way to reframe jealousy as inspiration because it relieves this heavy weight of inferiority due to comparison and replaces it with inspiration. This generates endless possibilities that create so much joy!
Journaling prompts (click here)
- If you know you can have everything you are jealous about in other people, how would you feel if you’ve achieved all of them?
- Learning from the people who have already achieved them, what are the actions you can take to get similar results?
Fact 4: Your flaws are your superpower
If you look at it from a different perspective, your flaws are actually your greatest advantage. When feeling jealous, we are usually looking at other people’s advantages with our self perceived disadvantages.
For example, I used to feel jealous of extroverted people because of their natural gift of building wonderful connections and attract various opportunities. As an introvert, those things do not come naturally to me, so I spent years feeling bad about myself. By thinking that way, I was totally missing the part where being introverted allows me to deeply focus on bettering my coding skills, build deep connections with few people, and is the reason why I am on my self development journey!
Another example is me used to feel jealous of people who can easily adapt to different environments because it takes time for me to do so. However, not liking constant change makes it easier for me to stay consistent, it also allows me to see things from different perspectives by doing it multiple times.
When thinking about these flaws this way, they instantly become my greatest advantage. The same goes for all of our self perceived flaws.
Journaling prompts (click here)
- What is one thing about me that I easily compare with other people?
- Why do I think it is a flaw compared to other people?
- How can I flip it around and see it as an advantage?
Fact 5: Confidence is a choice
If what we are jealous about is innate, such as appearance, then we need to focus on appreciating what we already have. Similar to the previous one, it’s all about flipping the perspective on how we see ourselves. Remember that confidence is a choice. We can choose to feel confident with our appearance if we are willing to see it as beautiful and embrace it with confidence.
A great way to do this is to find celebrities or influencers who have the feature you are insecure about. Using them as inspiration, you can then learn how to embrace your features with love and confidence. By mastering this, you will feel less jealous because you have chosen to appreciate your unique beauty, as well as those of others!
Journaling prompts (click here)
- What is a facial or body feature I feel insecure about myself?
- Which celebrity or influencer has the feautre I am insecure about?
- How do the celebrity or influencer you found carry themselves?
- What aura does that feature bring upon them?
Hope this helps! Thank you so much for reading!
