Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Hey jealousy

My mother once gave me a piece of advice: Pay attention to what you're jealous of because it will tell you what is important to you.

When I find myself feeling jealous, I try to take that jealousy and turn it into a goal.

Jealous of friends who get to travel? Save your pennies and plan a trip. Jealous of teachers when you interview them for education stories? Go back to school, girl, because you clearly can't get enough of it. Jealous of other writers? WRITE. That one got all caps.

And here's another thing: Every life has its burdens including the lives of those on the receiving end of your jealousy. Do I need to bring up Heidi and Seal? Because I will bring up Heidi and Seal. Those two crazy kids really seemed to have it all...

I guess I'm writing this post as a reminder to myself that jealousy can be positive. It can show you your priorities and therefore show you what you really need to be prioritizing. That said, I think any body-hating jealousy is just socialized in us as women from a very early age and is in no way positive. So ignore that. Breathe through it. Quote Ani to yourself. But being jealous of someone's job or travels or creative stick-to-it-ness? I think that can be clarifying. You want it? Make a plan and go out and get it.

In unrelated news, our owl now has pineapple hair. It's pretty awesome.


33 comments:

Teddi said...

i'd never thought of jealousy that way. your mom is wise. :) cute pineapple hair owl too.

Juanette said...

Omg get out of my head! This was such an awesome message to turn a potential negative into a positive, I loves!

tiarenie said...

i love this post, its a great way to look at jealousy! hopefully i can use this advice "in the moment".. cute pineapple!

Jazz said...

I use to grow pineapples in the backyard when I lived in Florida! Takes a loooong time, but so worth it. The best pineapple I've ever tasted!

Anonymous said...

I should quote Ani alot more in my life! She's the best.

Lizzie said...

Yay for mom's great advice!

I adore that owl. so stinkin cute! :)

xo
Lizzie
placeclevertitlehere.blogspot.com

danielle p. said...

i love owls! this is adorable!

Forest City Fashionista said...

That was a very cool post; your Mom knows what she's talking about. Mmmmmmm, fresh pineapple!

Shybiker said...

I like your blog! Your fashion-sense is fun and your other posts (e.g., flowers) are interesting. I'm stickin' around!

Charmaine said...

This is such great, positive advice! Thanks for sharing :).

Charmaine xx

Melanie said...

What's that old adage? Never judge until you've walked a mile in the other person's shoes? - especially if they're stilettos! And I think jealousy comes from judging too positively. It's easy to forget that we only see the parts of someone's life they want us to see - we all have closets full of stuff, some of which we wear, some of which we don't. I like your take on jealousy.

Thrifted Shift said...

I love that you've written about solving the jealousy problem, Seal, teachers, and Ani. Excellent post. I enjoyed it very much and will think about it the next time I feel myself turning green. Thank you.
--TS

Brittany Sims said...

Wow, that brilliant! I shall keep that advice! :)

~Brit
www.brittany-sims.com

Connie said...

Your mom is a wise owl for sure. I'm going to borrow that advice and give it to my children AND myself. <3

lucia m said...

love the it!!! :D

www.aroundlucia.com
www.aroundlucia.com

Sarah Jane said...

Wise words from your mum!

FashionCherry said...

Well done on this post, it really rang a bell in me, its so true! When we envy someone it IS usually because we want something that they have ;-) its a great way to motivate ourselves to achieve positive things !

http://fashioncherry.co/hm-to-offer-a-luxury-label/

Miss Simmonds Says said...

what sage advice, I should do more to sort out my jealousy

Mica said...

Very wise advice! And cute owl! :)


AwayFromTheBlue.blogspot.com.au

Sam said...

Brilliantly said...loved the first line, I never thought of jealously that way

Emmylou said...

This is a great way to deal with the green-eyed monster. We all kinda fall prey to it sometimes, so I agree that it's a great way to set goals for yourself:)

Curtise said...

That's an interesting way to look at jealousy, I had always seen it as an entirely negative, unhelpful emotion. Good thinking! xxx

Anonymous said...

This is so insightful. I'm really glad you posted and reminded me today...I'm going to spend some time writing poetry tonight, actually, and when it doesn't go well I often fall into that trap of reading my fav poets and just feeling miserable and stupid and envious that it comes "easy" to them. But I'm going to channel that energy into perfecting my own craft tonight :)

Also, your owl is darling.

<3 Cambria
jupefashion.blogspot.com

Jessica said...

Great perspective, I never thought of it that way. Thanks for sharing that, and your owl is SO CUTE. ;)

xx Jessica

Fashionistable said...

Beautifully written. A lovely positive slant on jealousy. OK only if seen in this light. Xxxx

Dee {Strings and Buttons} said...

Very true and sometimes it's easy to lose track of the positive. I love that because it proves you can do whatever you set your mind to. Thanks for the reminder x

Vix said...

Your Mother is very wise, that makes a lot of sense. I've never though of jealousy as having a positive outcome. x

A Very Sweet Blog said...

This is beautiful! I look at people that have more and say what can I do to achieve that. Excellent advice you give! MAKE A PLAN
http://www.averysweetblog.com/

Nikki | The Ginger Diaries said...

Okay, the switch to the ownl was hilarious, haha. You are actually right, you get nowhere beeing just jaleous. Making goals and a plan to reach them does! x

Emily Peebles said...

Jealousy can indeed be crippling if you don't channel it into a positive emotion. You always give such good advice! Thank you for sharing!

Stacey said...

This is such a great way to think of jealousy, and it really rings true.

Lydia Armstrong said...

This is really stellar advice. For reals.

shakti said...

That's really great advice. I think I'll pass it along to some teens I know...