is it toxic to be envious of other people doing well in life?

kingslayer

hgotsparkle wrote: »

You don't know that those people you envy are happy with their lot, they may work too much and wish they had more free time, they might feel like they've sacrificed too much to get what they have now.

Maybe those people wish they had a chance to re take their GCSEs like you do, you just never know.

Never compare yourself to others as it never does you any good. Your life is your life, who cares what others have done/are doing/will do?

i understand what you are saying. I just see people my age with new mercedes benz' or BMW and they seem to be doing well for themselves. meanwhile, i am living with my dad and trying to find a job so i can start saving up a good amount so i can move out and invest some of it too.

i look at footballers or actors and think to myself "i could have been doing that if continued it or i would have got into it when i was younger" etc. i hate having regrets and looking back thinking "what a wasted opportunity" and now i'm living a mediocre life.

i'm not terribly interested in the material possessions, but it would be nice to have enough money not to worry. I guess everyone thinks like that. I mean everyone on this forum is here for pretty much the same reasons; which is to earn more money, save more and live comfortable, financially.

ohreally

kingslayer wrote: »

i'm not terribly interested in the material possessions

Really, you do appear to be...

kingslayer wrote: »

I see my peers with nice cars, their own places, great social lives etc, and it makes me crave that life

bubblegum1985

Life is a marathon not a sprint.

jimmy2times

Deleted%20User wrote: »

Jimmy Education is never to late!

I guess not, but I don't, and never have had a clue.
All of my friends seemed to have at least some sort of idea when we were in school! That was well over a decade ago and I still haven't found anything that I can imagine doing.
Online career tests etc are useless. It's like, If I mention I like animals at any point in the test, it's suggested that I become a vet! Completely unrealistic.

ska_lover

I don't understand why you would be envious of people because they own more ''stuff'' than you. Material possessions don't mean a thing..and are completely irrelevant to anyones happiness. People are what matter

A meaningful career however is worth fighting for, a career you can love. YOu are taking a great step forward by doing those gcse's

Erzuine_Thale

It depends,we,(whether we admit it or not,to ourselves OR others),all get like that from time to time,i'm 49 & i still get like that,the point is how much do you value yourself and your place in society,there will NEVER be an easy answer,but,without sounding to trite that IS the whole journey of life,to get through as best we can........:j

DaveTheMus

Envy and self-pity are two of the most useless, unproductive emotions.......

Carl31

You can't judge someone by how much stuff they have, it could all be paid for with debt. Is that successful? Having mountains of debt?

Success is personal. To some, success is defined as a career, to others it is living a healthy, positive life, others the achievement of raising a well mannered family

Material possessions can be lost in the blink of an eye, they are not a sign of anything. I know society deems them to be a sign of wealth or whatever, but really, truly they mean nothing

Nebulous2

I've mostly worked in public sectorish jobs. Moderately well paid and we manage to squeeze a lot out of that in terms of lifestyle by careful money management.

However I took a sales job briefly on a commission only basis. I worked in a posh part of town, was expected to look the part in wearing suits etc and our finances slowly but surely took a turn for the worse. I found myself worrying about bills in a way I had never had to before.

I also began to feel a resentment for the people around me. All of these people on more money than I will ever earn, with salaries and company cars really began to irritate me. That was an alien emotion. I had always felt 'good luck to them' about anybody doing better than me before that.

Not wanting to go down that road was one of my main reasons for leaving.

Your future is in your own hands. Resenting or envying others doesn't work and is only destructive to you. Life isn't fair. Some people get dealt a much better hand of cards than others and that will always be the case. What you need to do is try to play the hand you have as well as you can.

You could have been born in a third world country with no education and very little food. Being born and brought up in the West you have already had your own personal lottery win. That should provide a reality check when looking at some of your peers.

Morglin

I have known too many bitter and depressed wealthy people to ever be envious of anyone.

Wealth should never impress anyone, but achievements should. Some of the most aspirational of people alive today, will never be rich, in monetary terms, but it doesn't matter, as their reputation makes them rich in other ways.

As long as a person has enough to cover the bills, and have a nice life, all else is froth on the coffee, and meaningless.

Love and good health are much more important, and all anyone should strive for is to to be the best they can.

Lin