thoughts on envy + April recommendations - by Ava

Sylvia Plath: “I am jealous of those who think more deeply, who write better, who draw better, who ski better, who look better, who live better, who love better than I.” For a long time I agreed—it’s a natural human instinct to look at others and admire the ways in which they’re better than us. If you’re at all competitive (I certainly am), it’s easy to feel threatened by someone else’s success; it makes you feel inadequate. We also convince ourselves that success is a zero-sum game; seeing someone else achieve a goal makes us perversely feel like there are reduced odds of us achieving the same thing, even when the opposite is true.

Sylvia Plath: “I am jealous of those who think more deeply, who write better, who draw better, who ski better, who look better, who live better, who love better than I.” For a long time I agreed—it’s a natural human instinct to look at others and admire the ways in which they’re better than us. If you’re at all competitive (I certainly am), it’s easy to feel threatened by someone else’s success; it makes you feel inadequate. We also convince ourselves that success is a zero-sum game; seeing someone else achieve a goal makes us perversely feel like there are reduced odds of us achieving the sam