Envy is a great source of our misery. Charlie Munger used to say envy is a stupid sin because it is all pain and no fun.
But envy affects all of us. What can we do about it?
British philosopher Bertrand Russell gave us a suggestion in The Conquest of Happiness:
“You can get away from envy by enjoying the pleasures that come your way, by doing the work that you have to do, and by avoiding comparisons with those whom you imagine, perhaps quite falsely, to be more fortunate than yourself.”
To Russell, happiness isn’t a passive state that lands in our laps. We have to work for it, to conquer it through conscious choices and directed discipline.
To get rid of envy, we should:
- Recognize we have enough and enjoy what we have, instead of wanting the next thing
- Fulfill our purpose and be useful, such as supporting our family and serving our community
- Stop comparing our lives with the Instagram highlights of other people’s lives
It is hard, for sure. It’s like we are geared to be envious of others. I stopped scrolling social media partly because I didn’t want to keep seeing other people’s curated lives and subconsciously compare my worst moments with their best.
But we can train ourselves out of envy and enjoy our own lives.
Keep this letter in your book, and it will come back to you.