Almost everyone has experienced some sort of jealousy but it’s those that don’t act on their jealousy are the true winners.
This does not mean you’re a bad person for feeling this way towards your friends but we often confuse these feelings rather than accepting them for what they are.
The best way to be less jealous is to acknowledge your jealousy, understand where it’s coming from, and find healthy ways to overcome it.
It’s not as difficult to feel less jealous of your friends as you may think. Here’s everything I could find that will definitely help you in many ways:
1. Understand Your Jealousy
There could be many reasons why you feel jealous of your friends.
Perhaps they are succeeding in a way you are not or you feel disappointed that you didn’t get that specific thing they have. You could be jealous of who they are or how others perceive them.
Anything that makes you feel jealous, whatever the reason may be, take a look at why you are feeling this way towards them and question these thoughts.
Ask yourself: Should I be feeling this way towards my friend? Why am I feeling this way?
When you’re constantly questioning your jealousy, it’s easy to poke holes in the assumptions that you make.
When you try to rationalize your jealousy and understand it, it’s easier to figure out new ways to realize that your jealousy is unnecessary or unwarranted.
2. Admit That You Are Jealous
When jealousy is left to grow, it becomes harmful to you and the person on the receiving end.
You start to subconsciously treat this person differently and your feelings turn for the worse.
Little things may start to annoy you about this person even if they never mattered before.
See also: Can Jealous Friends Be Dangerous?
Which is why it’s important to admit to yourself that you are jealous.
You don’t have to tell other people unless you are seeking advice and support from a person you trust or would like someone to help you overcome your jealousy.
When you take that first step in admitting that you are jealous of your friends, it gives you the chance to deal with it head-on rather than leaving it to fester and grow into other types of jealousy or simply trying to stifle the feeling.
3. Acknowledge Your Positives
Often jealous feelings can come from insecurity and self-worth issues.
If we feel like we aren’t good enough or you feel that your friends are so much better than you, then you will start experiencing jealousy towards them.
Which is why you should try focusing on the good things that you have and what makes you a great person.
There must be things you like about yourself of the blessings that you’ve appreciated in the past.
This way, you’ll be able to look at your friend with a newfound understanding that everyone will receive things that are meant for them similar to how you were blessed with the things you really wanted.
When you focus on yourself and take note of all the blessings in your life, you’ll feel less jealous of your friends.
4. Catch Yourself Before You Act On It
The best thing you can do for yourself and your friends is to never act on your jealousy.
If you ever do, this could potentially ruin the relationship you have with your friends and make it difficult to come back from that.
Jealousy is known to lead a person to act on their feelings where you can easily start gossiping, being mean to your friend, or simply treating them unkindly and even portray toxic traits.
Related Post: 11 Crucial Things To Do If You Are The Toxic Friend
This is why if you ever feel the temptation to say bad things about your friend or treat them wrong due to you feeling jealous, catch yourself before you make that mistake because it’s very likely that you will regret your actions when you do stop feeling jealous of this friend.
5. Think of Times When Your Friends Were Happy For You
A great way to be less jealous of your friends is to remind yourself of the times when that person was happy for you.
This makes it easier for you to replace your jealousy with a different kind of emotion and remind yourself that you should do the same for them.
If this friend has shown you kindness in the past and has never been jealous of you either (or perhaps they have but successfully handled it in a mature way), you can motivate yourself to do the same.
It’s totally okay if you’re a bit jealous in the moment however as long as you quickly get over your jealousy, there’s nothing to worry about.
6. Stop Comparing Yourself To Your Friends
You will continue to feel jealous of your friends if you keep comparing yourself to them.
Jealousy feeds off comparison and makes it hard for you to feel less jealous especially if you’re someone who’s known to have low self-esteem and negative thinking patterns.
The more you compare yourself and the things you have or don’t have to your friends, you will only find it harder to stop feeling jealous of them.
This is why you need to keep reminding yourself of the good things that you have received in your life rather than focusing on things that you don’t have.
This right here will make a huge difference in how you feel and think in life and towards other people.
Unless you are using comparison in a healthy way to find new solutions to your problems, then it’s fine, but if you are using comparison to tear yourself down, then it will only lead you to feel worse about yourself and your friends.
Try practicing on a consistently to not compare yourself to others.
It may require a bit of work and determination but in time you feel the impact that it has on your mental health.
7. Accept That Your Friend Has Their Own Path
Every person has their own path that they need to follow and along the way, they will receive things at a different time and to a certain extent compared to you.
The best thing you can do for yourself to feel less jealous of your friends is to accept this fact.
When you do fully understand this concept and choose to accept it for what it is, feeling jealous of where other people are compared to you will be easier to handle.
You are on your very own path right now and these feelings you have are not what you necessarily might need right now to assist you.
So, take your jealousy with a pinch of salt and be ready to receive what’s meant for you.
8. Manage Your Stress
Jealousy is not an easy feeling to handle since it comes with many other feelings that accompany it such as guilt, depression, unworthiness, anger, and more.
This can be incredibly draining and will often make you feel extremely low.
The best thing you can do is manage these feelings and the stress is by trying new activities or hobbies.
Meditation is also a great way to cope with stress since it encourages you to focus on your breathing and thoughts such as this guided mediation to reduce jealousy:
Find activities that will help you step away from your emotions and this will help you feel better.
9. Use Competition In A Healthy Way
Not all jealousy is bad and in certain cases where it is used to compete with another in a healthy way or used as inspiration is a pretty neat trick.
For example, if your friend is succeeding at the same activity you are doing, you may feel a little jealous of where they are.
It could be for a number of reasons why they are better at it than you. They could be putting more time and practice in it or they are simply using their natural talents.
You could take this jealousy and motivate yourself to work harder.
It could be the driving force you need to improve at that particular activity.
So, rather than obsessing over feeling jealous of that friend, you can take this jealousy and use it in a productive manner that will only help you improve towards the skill you are working on.
10. Be Positive
Don’t beat yourself up for feeling jealous of your friends because it happens to a lot of us.
The main point is that you should never act on these feelings or intentionally hurt your friend because you are jealous of them.
It’s not their fault that you feel this way towards them.
As long as you are determined to feel less jealous of your friends right now or in the future, it is possible!
Be consistent when practicing these techniques and make sure to never compare yourself to your friends.
If you manage to stop comparing and be happy for someone else, it will be easier to not experience jealousy.
Just take note that this does take time and consistent effort but it’s definitely not impossible!
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