10 ways to conquer jealousy

Giving the green eyed monster the boot

We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but green does not look good on you. Jealousy is a common trait in all walks of life, but too much of it can be unhealthy. Here are 10 ways to give jealousy the boot and become comfortable with who you are.

Big yourself up

Stare into a mirror and you’re looking back at your biggest critic. Jealous people are often too busy being envious to realize they’re pretty great themselves. Once you learn to identify the positive aspects of your life, you’ll soon start to focus on nurturing and developing more of these while those jealous thoughts slip away.

Judge your jealousy

Are you feeling envious of a friend who has the perfect job and the body of a Greek goddess? That’s fair enough. Do you feel rage-inducing jealousy when your boyfriend makes polite conversation with a waitress? Not so understandable. Unhealthy jealousy can lead to serious problems in your relationships with others, and should be quelled at the first opportunity.

Realise nobody is perfect

The grass is always greener on the other side. It’s more than likely that all of those people you are jealous of have plenty of problems and insecurities of their own. You could even make a note of someone’s faults (in your head!) if you are feeling jealous of them. When you start to accept that nobody is perfect, your jealousy will become far less obsessive and time consuming.

Ditch social media

A study conducted in Germany found that almost a third of people found social media to be an overall negative experience because they felt jealous of their friends. In fact, the research described Facebook as a ‘breeding ground of invidious feelings’ that can lead users into an ‘envy spiral’. Scary stuff. Go social media free for a few weeks and you’ll avoid this online envy.

Be open

If you’re feeling jealous of your partner or a friend, keeping it bottled up inside isn’t going to help anybody. Try to be open about how you’re feeling, but make sure you do it in a positive way. Instead of pointing the finger and getting angry, discuss how you feel and work together to come up with a solution.

Make it positive

Jealousy isn’t always a bad thing. Are you envious of your colleague with a perfect figure? Instead of staring daggers at them while you hide behind the photocopier, make it your goal to shift a few pounds and achieve a hot body of your own. Who knows, they can probably help if you ask for some tips!

Trace it back

Do you find yourself feeling aggressive, with your self-esteem at an all time low? It could be caused by jealousy. Research carried out at Pennsylvania State University found that otherwise healthy people could become lonely and more prone to violence simply by feeling jealous. Trace these feelings back to jealousy and realize how bad it truly is for you – you’ll ditch it in no time.

People are jealous of you as well

We guarantee that at some point, somebody has been jealous of you. Your super hot friend might be jealous of your great job. And that guy from school that lives in a mansion now? He’s green with envy over how close you are to your family. So why waste time being jealous of others when you’re pretty darn great yourself?

Don’t feel guilty

Jealousy isn’t the most enjoyable of feelings, but it is perfectly normal. If you start to beat yourself up over how often you are jealous of other people, you’ll gradually become more negative about yourself, and more envious of others. This is a dangerous cycle you do not want to get caught up in. Instead, accept the jealousy, address it positively, and move on.

Ignore your ex

One of the most common people to feel jealousy over is an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend. They might have moved on faster than you, or lost a bit of weight since you broke up. So what? They’re out of your life now, and there was a good reason for that. Now is the time to focus on yourself, meet somebody new, and move on with your life.