Envy and Inspiration

Envy is the Cancer of the Soul, More to That

There are people I admire, people I envy, and people I’m neutral towards.

This depends on what my goal post is. For example, back when I was a freshman in university, I’d admire the upper classmen with prestigious internships. Then as my peers got prestigious internships, I became envious of them. Social media, specifically LinkedIn, exacerbated this envy. It made it seem like everyone at my school had those coveted internships.

Thankfully, now, I rarely feel envious of others. A big part of it is my change of goal post. Before, my goal post fundamentally was about gaining fame, status, or power. Now, I just want to make things with cool people. Rather than having a goal that’s a zero sum game motivated by external validation, my new goal is intrinsic and positive sum. I’m not competing with anyone.