You are addicted to self-sabotage.

envy is not the problem, your mindset towards envy is.

4 min read

1 hour ago

Look, I get it. The whole concept of a “level playing field” is a complete myth. In reality, the system that we live in does not provide equal or equitable playing fields.

In such a system, where inequality is the norm and competition is ingrained in our bones, feeling envious is a normal consequence.

The problem, however, is not as much with the feeling of envy, as it is with our habit to absolutely villainize it. When you villainize envy, the first sight of it can trigger a panic response which throws you into a blend of guilt and victimhood. We are programmed to look at envy as a sin - and so, the very first sign of it makes us feel dirty.

It feels as if we have failed at our humanness.

This feeling of being a dirty or bad human being translates into denial, which translates into suppressed emotions, which, finally, gives birth to resentment.

I feel like resentment can, at least in parts, be prevented if we just stop shying away from having a very normal human emotion. And envy is, in fact, a very normal human emotion - especially in our current system of life.

We live in a patriarchal end-stage capitalist society where a lot of factors that are often either uncontrollable or unaffordable, are constantly being used to determine our worth as a human being. In such a state of living, where competition is so…