Jealousy
Jealousy is a common emotion, but I didn’t understand its impact until after I became a professional author. That’s when those negative feelings ripped through me.
Two writers sold more books than I did; I felt that both were, at best, mediocre. I could resent them, store up negative thoughts, and feel smugly superior, rejoice when they had a failure, or even tell friends how undeserving they were of their successes. I could do that—and I did.
About that time, a writer I’d mentored made two major sales. I felt genuinely happy for her. “You’ve worked for this,” I said.
It seemed incongruent that I could be jealous of some and yet clap for others. I prayed for the Lord’s help, but nothing changed. Finally, I decided on a fake-it-until-you-make-it strategy. When I learned of others’ accomplishments, I congratulated them. I reminded myself that my task was to be faithful to God and kind to others, and to realize God had chosen to bless them.
I can’t point to a magic moment when my faking became reality, but it happened. The more I congratulated them, the more rapidly my jealousy dissipated.
Not only did I learn to appreciate other authors, but God blessed my writings as well. I’m not sure that it was a cause-and-effect situation, but I became different. My sales picked up and I sold more books.
Today, I’m genuinely happy for others’ achievements and want them to succeed. I’ve learned to enjoy others’ success.
