Sensible Nonsense

Aristotle defined envy as pain at the sight of another's good fortune, while Bertrand Russell said that envy is one of the most potent causes of unhappiness.? Experiencing envy isn’t a great feeling and yet we all have been envious in our lives. Strangely, what makes us envious also changes with time.?

Growing up, what you saw, heard, felt, and experienced shaped your thinking, desires, and aspirations.? For many, the envy that you felt translated into motivation to emulate the person you admired or match their bucket list. ? But you can’t always be chasing or coveting what your compatriots have.?? What happens when you get everything?

"There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it" – Oscar Wilde

We all need to learn to balance what we aspire for, with contentment for what we already have and where we are in the journey.? Better preached than followed.??? But have you heard about the sensible nonsense that happiness is relative and not absolute.

In nonsensical terms, the relative proportion of happiness in life for everyone is always the same, whether you drive a BMW or a Toyota or whether you are size ‘0’ or not.? ?Do you believe that the additional ‘zero’ in your salary or ‘bank account’ will make you happier?? Think about this again,

"The proportion of happiness in everyone’s life is always the same" - '?????' {jhuND}

Your aspiration may want you to cry in a BMW rather than in a Toyota but in sensible terms, it’s on you to derive happiness from the absoluteness of your own achievements even whilst coveting for more. ??One way to do that is to benchmark yourself against your own expectations a decade back.

Quite possibly the extra that you are chasing may still be important for you. It may be a tipping point. But never forget after a point, envy has the potential to turn into jealousy which can destroy all that you have built.

What's the right answer? There's none. Some may wonder why they were crying in the first place. Many may consider themselves lucky that they are crying in a Toyota. Others may feel awful that they aren't crying in a BMW. However, the truth is that everyone's share of happiness will still be the same.

What this tells us is that everyone’s sensible nonsense will be different. I shared mine. You got to find your own that propels you forward with sanity. ?Bonne chance!

"There are some ideas so wrong that only a very intelligent person could believe them" - George Orwell