Have you ever noticed that we love to root for a team UNTIL they win?  Once a team continually wins, or has success over a long period of time, we root for them to lose!  Why?  Is it because we just want to “let another team have a chance?”  No.  We are jealous.

When you see someone in your world that is having success, what is your natural reaction?  Be honest.  At a core, visceral level, do you celebrate their success?  Or are you jealous? 

It seems many people I know immediately go to jealousy.  They are skeptical.  There is a voice in their head that says, “Sure they have success, but what did they DO to get there?”  Or they ask “Why them and not me?”  To some degree this is natural.  Don’t beat yourself up over it if this is you.  But here are some reasons why you should drop the jealousy.

It Inhibits Your Success:  When your natural reaction to success is to question it, you slow your own success.  You are telling your subconscious mind that “they must be cheating.”  So the only way to succeed is to cheat.  Not true of course.  Use that energy to honestly study what those people are doing differently than you.  Then do that.

It Gives You An Out:  This is related to above.  Whether we want to admit it or not, most of us could work harder to achieve what we want.  But for whatever reason, we don’t.  This “jealousy” attitude gives us a subtle out.  No need to work harder, only “they” are successful.  If you want it (whatever it is) work for it.  Want more?  Work harder.

It Makes You Less Grateful:  In addition, if we are honest, most of us have a ton of things in the world to be grateful for.  By focusing on the things that others have we lose sight of all of the blessings in our own life.  That attitude of gratitude can really be an important part of helping you climb the ladder of success.

So the next time you hear of a peer, friend or acquaintance celebrating some successful event…make sure you join them in celebration.  Be honest.  Be sincere.  Celebrate with them.

If you keep after it, someday they will be happy to celebrate with you.