Lifestyle

Being Jealous Of Your Friend's New Job Is Actually Good For You

by Leigh Weingus

If your BFF just got a new job and you're experiencing some jealousy, you're not a horrible person.

According to The School of Life's new video, envy is an emotion we should stop feeling so ashamed of. Instead, we should start using envy as a tool.

For example, maybe you think you're relatively happy working at a PR firm for a decent salary. It's not your dream job, but it pays the bills.

Then, your best friend (whom you love dearly) lands an awesome gig at a national magazine. As an added bonus, his or her salary is crazy high.

You take him or her out for a glass of Champagne to celebrate, but you're secretly seething with jealousy.

As the video explains it, this is a "call to action." If you take a moment to dissect this jealousy you feel, you'll probably experience some major insight. Maybe you want more out of a career than you thought you did!

Gretchen Rubin, the author of "The Happiness Project," also suggests using jealousy as a tool to learn more about yourself.

In her podcast "Happier," she notes,

The people that I envy are the ones that have something that I want. And even though it doesn't seem to really make sense, there's a clue there … It's full of information. You don't randomly envy someone.

How much better do you feel about every jealous feeling you ever had? Now, get out there, and make your dreams come true.

Citations: How Jealousy Can Make You Happier And More Successful (Huffington Post)