In a world that is still fixated so much on social media, it’s easy to just see the best of folks. You’ll see your neighbors vacationing in a tropical resort and feel a degree of envy, but it’s important to see the whole picture.
We all know deep down that social media is generally just a window in the best moments in the lives of our friends, but that doesn’t always help. However, I recently heard a statement from David Senra in a podcast where he framed it very nicely. He simply said:
“You are allowed to envy somebody if you envy the entire life. You are not allowed to envy pieces of it.”
- Tiger Woods’ father was an awful man.
- James Cameron is on his fifth marriage.
- Other celebrities are addicted to (and often die as a result of) drugs.
No one is perfect.
Even your friends online have struggles, they just tend not to show them on Facebook. It reminds me of this great Lending Tree commercial from years ago:
Envy can be a good thing if handled carefully, and is often a great source of motivation to improve ourselves and our situations. Just know that if you really want to envy someone, it’s worth looking at the entire picture see what bad lurks outside of the camera. It’s never as rosy as the view you get from your perspective, and your life is probably more envious than you give it credit for.
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