8 signs to help recognize the envious people around you
One of the best aspects of success is that you can celebrate it with your friends by sharing your joy with them, and this seems to multiply it because your enthusiasm infects those around you and those who love you.
Yet, it can happen that not everyone is happy about your excellent results --- because they are envious.
These people may seem to be happy about our success, but actually, deep down inside, they are full of envy because they want to be in our place, or worse, they wish we had not succeeded in our goal, so as not to feel inferior.
Furthermore, it can be difficult to expose them, also because they are people close to us, but there are eight warning signs that can help you discover the envy that surrounds you.
- 1. FALSE PRAISE. Envious people are often the first to praise you, perhaps with exaggerated emphasis, since they have to hide their true feelings; however, they are also the first to snort or raise their eyes to the sky when you turn your back. One way to counteract their falsehood is to give them sincere compliments when they deserve it and this will show them how false theirs are.
- 2. MINIMIZE YOUR SUCCESS. No matter how much you have struggled to achieve your goal, envious people will try to make it look easier than it was --- almost as if it just happened by accident. Be humble but firm in reporting your results; but be careful, if you use presumptuous and arrogant tones, they will be even more jealous of you.
- 3. THEY LOVE BRAGGING ABOUT THEIR OWN SUCCESS. Envious people love to loudly show off their own results, boasting and bragging so much, probably because, in reality, they are not as successful.
- 4. THEY IMITATE OTHERS. Envious people would like to be better than those who they envy, but in the meantime, they are content to try to imitate them. Instead of showing annoyance and responding to them negatively, invite them to identify and follow their own path. Let them know that they do not have to be you to succeed, but instead, need to start to have a lot more confidence in themselves.
- 5. THEY ARE COMPETITIVE. As stated previously, envious people want to be the best, and they experience everything in terms of a comparison, a constant competition. The psychologist Melanie Greenberg maintains that "they are insecure or arrogant and want to demonstrate their superiority". Refuse to play their game, by not accepting the challenge.
- 6. THEY WELCOME YOUR FAILURES. Your mistakes and failures are a source of joy for the envious people around you. Do not get angry about their reaction (especially since they will just pretend to be sorry for you), but focus on the path you are on and remember that mistakes are an integral part of the process of learning and growth. You are making progress. Therefore, the right way to repay those who envy you is with your calm determination and serenity.
- 7. THEY TALK ABOUT YOU BEHIND YOUR BACK. Envious people express their true feelings about you when you cannot hear them. Since their slanderous words could be harmful, face them directly, by calling them out about their attitude, but without being overwhelmed by their negativity. Envious people, in fact, do not like open conflict, and they cannot help but be ashamed of their behavior when it has been made public.
- 8. THEY HATE YOU. Envious people, deep down inside, are animated by hatred of our happiness. This is certainly not pleasant, and you could perhaps try to prove to such a person that there is no reason to envy and hate you. However, you may not ever be able to convince them. In that case, let them go.
Coping with the envy of those around you is certainly not simple, yet it is the only way to try to free them from this burden that oppresses them - or for you to finally get rid of them!
