“Can Envy Be Good for You?” by Maria Konnikova (The New Yorker)
This is the 4th article by Maria Konnikova that I’ve read and I found myself similarly intrigued and pleased by the insights I gained from this write-up, as her previous 3-part series on sleep. One interesting take away (or realization) for me was how envy can indeed spur us to strive to emulate someone, to replicate or better his/her achievements, if harnessed properly. I think the closer term for this is benign envy? On the other hand, admiration seems to create a sense of resignation in us, instils a belief that we can never be as good and so we should just “admire from afar“, even though it doesn’t wish ill on anyone.
Sounds interesting? Have a read of Maria’s article in the link above.
sometimes the things we want are the things we can't have 